m 


mm 


WfrM^ 

University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


INDIAN   WARS 


of  the 


INLAND    EMPIRE 


GARRETT  B.  HUNT 


General  Newman  S.  Clarke 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


Colonel  George  Wright 


Indian  Wars 
of  the  Inland  Empire 


by  Garrett  B.  Hunt 


SPOKANE  COMMUNITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

Spokane,  Washington 


(NOT   FOR   SALE) 


of  Spokane,  Wash.  Spovesman  Review 


Nam«  m  imGarrett  .13.  Hunt, 
R,SM,MC,  v/2ii*.  Third  Avenue. 

Orcupa.ln,,    "ClerK      t  0 .    Gli^  t  .  Y/ilt  6P 

PMC*,  of  hinh  Clarence,   K.   Y. 

Date  of  hlrth        1^'l-th  MovUIla  Yrl&67 

*i*f     1V02  to   City  1903 

„,  ,«,„,.„,., North  YcUima 

TUli.  '    lu.rrh 

;auo)i.   Ali.'h.'i  Delta  Phi 


Of    COJU. 


L3.A.A.C.    CnaihD 

Po<lt1ni'<»    of    trust    orrnpleH. 


DC}'.  CO. 


Divisl 


SpOKane,   1909  to 


II  nil    Hunt.  •'  pio- 

, ,,,1    I  a    worker 

rli"d 

.-inliiB  nt  hi--  Iv  Nor- 


.iiilv    I  r>.   whlrh    !"••!''•.     • 

in   In     i  ir*  on 

J,|.,    l, '-nil     '  .Hffiruii     bl 

Iho'ic.ht   t  :n'  •»  a  clot 

V  hi'  h 

!    ill  (1      i    ' 
h'- H  :>i    i  p    MI    i 
tnt'iinl     )>•.!.',        Pi 
..,.  ,.    .  . 


' 

i 
an  a.'- 


r-ei   '  T  i  (>(i  -'t  Y;iM.r:;i  in 
ootiilneu   divorce  in 


i        i  ; 

inti- 

j[r   \VR<;  n 

lunpl.-r    nf     :  ..  '        34, 

hr  ( >rlrntnl  mn- 
slsinry,  HII.I  r,i  K;>Hf  Rhi 

•  *)HP  br'.tiir  >    no\v  dcnd    •'  !  •  presi 
dent  »r  'ii*  ''in 

n'lil    nn   nUIrr   bmtli'i  'V   \V. 

Hunt.    Is    pp-':|clm»    of    JVi-KHPll    col- 
" 


REMARKS 


&&!&*** 

0.     B.    HUNT 


WHITER 


U  ••••  r      '    It  .  I        It  •  •  i,    ...      -Ml** 
I..  I     r       II  -iinlili  ri     Mir.  .1. 


' 
' 

n 

i  o.iii 


'rom  'lies  of  Spokane.  Wash.  Spokesman  Review 


.  iarrett  Hunt  Wished 

His  Hollow  Shell 

•I,  eft  to  l-'ire. 


EABS       LI-TTKR 

*k<   Allies   Br   Hung  Oui 
on  l-nchanlrtl  G>vc  at 


A    iinln.»p    lrl»pr   of   ornatr   rhr-tnrlc 

yolllrvvd-ln?    on    drjlMl,  nod    tlv     fllHI- 

Ity  and  f-llv  of  pompous  burials  vn* 
left  hv  fottpM  B  Hunt.  P."'.  f"r  more 

than  30  vr-,rs  "  Hly  ,?  tiipl^  PP,  who 
rtlO'l  \r-'r,flTV. 

•in-   M'PI    IVP  •  i    iiMi  on  Masonic 

t-,.,,,ir  *\\<\    da'pd    April    4. 

,oto  -  -'1     to     Finnic     ft. 

<-:,,•  ...,:;/  .I'll  Mm  stipulation  that 
It  *«*-.  »  b«  pprnpd  upon  death  of 
the  ifrjiffr.  rmn1.'-;l"ti  to  open  HIP 
nr—'SBSf  "••":  'ats<>  rrantpd  Knvin  .T. 
Barkfr.  ".<••'  hv  nm-'cr  "f  Spokanp 
Masonl'-  '-'IE'1  N-v  .M 

Uha«    to    Do    \Ylth    Boris" 

'Til-      l'"-r      M' 

P-m     1'tHTstnM'Une    Fll'nd 

•11,1*    "«iil    of    di-MPt    h    tr>dqy    POM- 

H  h    HIP    ••"mini? 

of    Mir  -en  I 
APT""     •••     'hot     n'lirr    ra<-<-  -"Id.     VPt 

i        m      :       ii    up.-  Mrnl    rpl'":- 

•        -     Mull     -j  p    r|,i     -vltli     th" 

nf  cli  Hi'-:  dors  not   nffnrt 
regai  -it'ic    '  t'r    ni'^ln^l    of 
"f  hi*  mori.il  mint  ins  aftpr 
li»  ji.i  |1  ifntlon.  or 

c    x^nl'ir    of    ni'M'n!    lif*1.    It    has    wrll 
(•ncl    lovally    HTX'-d    !».«    t^nfii'    ' 
»rlBlly.    hi.it.    vm-niit.    !»    will    1)P    niTftv 
Rtl   rrpptv   f-lKll   ilpuji    M)"   riullr';-- 

of    \\1r'*    unr^tiiiR    prx.    to    br    rToc- 

Plfd     «»'!     ••njir|,<f.|rr|     WtMy     R«     SUCh. 

I     fr«-|     Hi»»     thrrr    ran      b^     nothing 
MI'''   nbmit    r»iv  trnnntlfss  r'iip;p 

p     rp-,l,-«1t      frniU     Chilli     «     Stnnn     \\Hf 
h^rn    Inlron 

With  B   h!tjntiKs<!   v  h!ch   tos'-.'--:  nMdr 
all    <-"n-|drint!nn      rr> 

IPR  f|r|>irn»lallv  to  thr-  srtH-d  vjo\vs 
of  nthv.-  and  to  vnrtnt'-r)  \ncnr.  I 


Manure  to  Mundane. 

Uiull  P'^nl  of  In  pom*-  mannrr, 
undpr  Ihp  usual  <-ir<  Minstances  It  will 
brronir  an  unrlonn  nipnacp  to  frlrnds 
nnrt  frllnws  In  Ihptr  mundane  actlvl- 
UPS  whrii  my  soul  shall  hnve  (?one  on 
to  R  fuller  splrttual  rxlstrnre  beyond 


e  gr  . 

I  lay  no  crcal  storp  by  thp  Inougnt 
thitt  t'hp  physlml  body  In  In  thp  tmn[;c 
Of    HIP    Maker,    for    thr    Makrr    Is   rn- 
tlrplv      rlrltnal.      While    livliiK.    I   linvr 
bcpn  I'-it-.r  to  ceremonttl  recognition 
out   <>»   il-jftrrnrp  to  \vhnt''vrr  of  virtur 
I>IP   tr;>iv;latPd   onr   innv   hnvp   < 
I     v.n'ild    .srt    down     nauKht.    h«ii-     to 
haii'!"''   (h"  frpp  Inr-llnatlotv;  of  Jovm^i 
filr,,,l  fliul  rnwork'T.     But    Irt  sijph  bp 
llmit.Mi   to   thp   fltflr  of   fcllownhlp,   If 
(  Imim-slanrps   so   coiitv^l.      Bn'    1   rn-  i 
(nil  MM  MP  h  rtrvoii-i.  merely  (IrfrrrlnR, 
t-i    Mi"    v.ishP«    of    thp    living    who    if-  i 
main     '<••-•'    th<n-    IIP    embarrassed    be-  1 
'(-.IHT     'f  i^piitp  for  nnsppinlv  omtAflion  I 
of  ii«aR<»v 

Room  for  llpaton. 


n'-.nt    thai    «mlrf    my 
inv  rorp-.o   tv)|]   bp   to 


^.tlM    rlnlirs 
of   no   more 


But,     Irt     i-pa-on     flUfl     rltflinistnn'P, 
ralhrr    'hnn     «.uly-p|  vlrjico    In    -nslnm. 
point    Hi*    T'fv    1o    thp    disposition    of  j 
my    raithlv    h«"<".      rtlmblo    fir"    has, 
rv'pr  ppppat«il  i"  m«  ""  a  nvi-p  rteslr-  | 
nblp     pblUrtnnt     than     thr     llnRprlnp 
proppss    of    r1--,-pv    within      Hi"    narrow 
hoirp   '  and   In  P   lavcr  rHv   t-^  1< 
ppti?lvp  than  burial  lot  and  excavation 

jof    «=rpnl.  h-»       oft.    I    hn-p    ponrinrd 
roni-pM'b'K    ")p    futility    "f    expending 
sums    of    moil'-'     and    ontiavlne    IlvltiR 
cnrrsz^      In     i--"vprlne     nvir     i 
fr^m     la'"1     bnd|p<!    of    witi-r,    m     In 

'  brlnr.i^R  ih^m  nut  of  thr  d-plh<;  of  far 
forp-t-    a.-i  havp  tunird  Instlnctlvfly 
to  the  prlni  and  r.lmplr  trando'ir  of  a 
•ivlal   In    thp    filrjity   ",-ran,   or   spon- 

tanrou-iv    n.i-.-trd    t"    thp    nattiral! 
epuHnrr    -  r   M--^.   "-iin'p   hnf1v,  'n> 

;,rrr-    Ii--    «--'U    had    Ictt    »t   on    taklnc 
filch*      '"      irlc'-tlal      responslblHUes 
until  "thp  an«,p'*  of  c,od  upturned  the 
1  tod    niid    lrf    »hp    dppd    rnnn    there. 
'  T^.-i  many  of  our  modern  "In  Memo- 
i  rlnms"  prhlblt  th"  folly  and  futility  of 
[mere    R^--tnrr--.    n^    won    R'-    creating 
i  Ri|n\pir.  burdens  up0"  "IP  living. 

A^bps   to    N  -it  nrr. 

All    mmlrlprailon?    b^lnT    othPtwhp 
1  nRrprr>M(    T  prpfpr  cremation  with  the 
fl.th    r"-('!nr   511  ntiy    flntu:   out    to    na- 
[JprsUnding  companion 

,-f  rr.^tv.-hilp  visits  With 
mr     tn    HIP    Miorp    of    tlm    pnrhantrd 
rovp    on     l.ak"     Chatrolpt.     whorr     by 
campfirp  »;-npf»th  thr  ?tnrs  I  listened 
,  to    manv    a    \ol'-rlrss    ksson. 

^-,  I  \vri'p.  I  ffpl  that   I  v'tll  bp  pn 
nb!rd  to  riUrharRp  all  mv  prp^nt  nvm- 
Inclrbtrdn"--..    and    in    thp    p'rnt 
I    iPTiip'.;    thnt    Ihp    i-pslclup    nftpr   rtls- 
i  posing  "f  mv  habitation,  at  most  nvv! 

na'c    pxprn  r    bp    turned    ovpr    to    the 
i  almmip'-  of  Orl'ntal  Conr,kiory.   A.   A. 
R.  R..  for  th"  pnsrmpnt   of  rldprly  dls- 


mom«nt  thun  tlir  rui'-nis  of  nny  olhrr 
pnimal  Rt   ln'st  ovrrtnkrn  by  thp  v.lrts- 

<:|tMfl«<:    of    tllP    VpaTR 


. 

And  my  Spntt|-.h  Pit"  rlns  rnav 
roppily  co  to  n  brother  of  Bpokanr 
(Copttnnrrt  nn  p*««  »lx.  rolnnnriTlv*  > 


ASHES  OF  LOVER 
OF  LA!(F  IN  COl'E 

'.  Jc/3i ; 

Gcffrett  Tlunt    Asked; 
Final  Rest  Under     ; 
the  Stars. 


All  rOn«lrfrt,">llfin«  hrlii|.  nltirrnl«P 
aurprablr,  I  prrfrr  rr^matinn  with  Ibr 
ash  rrtltliip  illrnllr  fluns  out  In  n*  - 
tnrp  hr  thp  umlrr-  l^ndiiiR  rnmpnninn 
or  rnmpnnioii'  of  n  tnhllr  xUHs  rrltb 
n\*  ^n  thp  iliorr  of  HIP  Pmh^ntrrl 
rnvp  on  I, atop  Chitrolft.  nh»r^  li\ 
rafnpflrp  hpnr;ith  Hir  st.irs  I  HstrnrH 
In  many  n  vol<  P|P«.«I  |p««on. 

ronfoimlnR   tn   HIP    • 

ll'Hlt.    f,.i 

fif   HIP    fity.    v  ho   rll<"l 
hh  old   fiipiul--  fl 

hi-    ,T-.hr- 

thr    ".n(p|«i    "f    M  ':ptp    hr    h:ul 

sppfi*     hl^    -  T     HIP       !-> 

y  r  n  i  • 

Thr  n     rni!p     nnd     n 

qunri 

1ft.       ;  HUP* 

malntalnrd     a     ramp     Itirip    mu! 
o\it     PVPIV    v.  i  r  I;    pud.    n>  r  nmppnird    hy 
somp  frl" 

'I'Jip    party    dm-p    cut,    yrr,!prdr»y    In 
automobiles,  PiiKagrd  a   launrh  to  takr 
thpni    to    HIP    COVP    and    th-n.    without- 
nny   rpirmonv.   M-nttPird    I  IIP   avt 
Inds. 

'I'hosp    in    Hir       party       •<  ri  (        f 
1 .  Dr    II .  y, 

Oflilt.   Mi<:s    Mptlv    \V.T!|     M    • 

Hunt;    H.    I'     H 

F.   .F    Puth'-i!ln    and   (Jniiip^   SuM- 

Mr.   }lnnt    If  ft    n    moM    inni"ial    Irtt-r 

upon  his  dpath.  phlln  uphl/lnR  upon 
|  clp.it h  and  the  hprpaftn.  'I  hp  quota- 
I  tion  at  thp  hrari  of  this  nrtlrlf  Is  an 

extract  from  it. 


TKE  I5/WCEGF7  f-TRRA.RY 


Anticipatory 

Into  the  pages  following  have  been  gathered  the  leading  facts  touch 
ing  the  first  steps  in  the  upbuilding  by  the  American  whites  of  the 
great  basin  lying  between  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Cascade  range, 
in  later  years  come  to  be  known  as  "the  Inland  Empire  of  the 
Columbia." 

Within  half  a  decade  much  public  attention  has  been  attracted  to 
the  activities  and  resources  of  this  domain;  yet  half  a  dozen  decades 
ago  little  was  known  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Columbia,  even  at  the 
national  capital. 

In  the  interim,  and  during  the  process  of  change  from  Indian  domi 
nation  to  a  force  in  the  modern  commercial  world,  there  were  many 
characteristic  happenings.  Perhaps  no  section  of  the  United  States, 
equal  in  area,  presents  now  so  great  a  contrast  with  conditions  pre 
vailing  a  half  century  ago. 

These  studies  were  undertaken  at  their  inception  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  accurate  information  for  a  single  individual  con 
cerning  the  real  events  which  transpired  in  the  transition  from  a 
wild,  unproductive  stretch  of  little-known  national  domain  into  a 
segment  of  the  Union  fairly  representative  of  Twentieth  Century  life 
in  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  fact  that  this  period  of  change  and  progress  has  never  been 
covered  by  a  historian  prompted  the  suggestion  that  the  results  of 
the  compilation  be  collected  into  a  volume.  Aside  from  whatever 
value  the  book  may  have  as  an  authoritative  recital  of  the  subject 
matter,  the  reproduction  of  the  statements  and  thoughts  of  the  partici 
pants  in  the  events  treated  throws  many  a  point  of  illumination  upon 
the  manners  and  customs,  methods  and  conditions,  military  and  civil, 
which  were  everyday  matters  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  only  half  a 
century  ago  (Spokane,  Washington,  June,  1908). 

GARRETT  B.  HUNT 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:    (Picture  Credits) 

Eastern  Washington  Historical  Society 
Gonzaga  University  Archives 
Jerome  Peltier 
Spokane  Public  Library 
The  Spokesman-Review 


Contents 


1 .  Visions  of  Long  Ago 1 

2.  War  in  Washington  —  Causes 5 

3.  Some  Specific  Agencies 9 

4.  Mormon  Activity 13 

5.  Lieutenant  Mullan's  Observations   .......  15 

6.  Steptoe  Expedition 19 

7.  Te-hoto-nim-me 23 

8.  Gregg's  Letter 27 

9.  Father  Josefs  Account 31 

10.  A  Flathead  Version 37 

11.  An  Incubus 41 

12.  Preparing  to  Strike 45 

13.  Military  Arm 51 

14.  Across  the  Snake 57 

15.  Battle  of  the  Four  Lakes 61 

16.  On  the  Spokane  Plains 65 

17.  In  the  Spokane  Valley 69 

18.  With  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 73 

19.  Treaty  Making 79 

20.  Executions  —  Hangman  Creek 83 

21.  Close  of  a  Remarkable  Campaign 87 

22.  Dandy's  Reminiscences 91 

23.  Morgan's  Recollections 99 

24.  Smohalla  and  His  Cult 103 

25.  Forms  and  Ceremonies 107 

26.  Warring  Nez  Perces Ill 

27.  A  Hegira  Militant 115 

28.  Sergeant  Sutherland's  Ride 119 

29.  Harvest  of  Fifty  Years 123 

30.  Silhouette                                                                               ,  127 


List  of  Illustrations 

Brother   Jonathan    (Steamer) 90 

Clark,    William         2 

Coeur   d'Alene   Mission          75 

Columbia,    Steamer 51 

Fleming,  Lt.  H.  B 25 

Fort    Benton 74 

Fort    Colville        55 

Fort  George  Wright 125 

Fort  Okanogan         53 

Fort  Spokane 124 

Fort  Walla  Walla 18 

Garry,  Chief  (Spokane)          3 

Gaston,  Lt.  William .21 

Gregg,  Lt.  D.  McM 27 

Horse  Slaughter  Camp 73 

Howard,  General   O.  O HI 

Howitzer          92 

Johnston,  Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  A.  S 39 

Joseph,  Chief  (young) 112 

Joset,  Father  P 31 

Kam-i-ah-kin         5 

Kip,  Col.  Lawrence 20 

Lawyer,  Chief 3 

Lewis,   Meriwether        2 

Lyon,  Hylan  B 57 

McDowell,    Major    Irvin         40 

McLoughlin,   Dr.  John 41 

Morgan,  Lt.  Michael  R.  (then  General) 58 

Mullan,  John 17 

Ow-hi          47 

Porter,  General  F.  S 39 

Post,    Frederick         74 

Pu-Pu-Mox-Mox  or  Yellow  Serpent 113 

Randolph,  Surgeon  John  F 57 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield 24 

Sitting  Bull 115 

Smohalla         105 

Splawn,  Hon.  A.  J 85 

Spokane   River          69 

Steptoe,  Col.  Edward  J 19 

Stevens,  Isaac 2 

Taylor,  Brevet  Captain     . 23 

Timothy,  Chief          21 

Wool,  Maj.  General  John  Ellis 11 

Maps 

Battle  of  Four  Lakes 62 


1 


Visions  of  "Long  Ago" 


Annals  of  American  history  indicate  that  two  quite  dis 
tinct  methods  of  progress  were  in  vogue  in  the  settling  up 
by  pioneers  of  the  vast  public  domains.  Actual  possession 
of  territory  was  accomplished  in  different  ways  in  differ 
ent  periods  of  the  advance  westward  of  the  forces  of  civili 
zation.  In  each  generation  the  object  was  the  same — the  sei 
zure  of  the  chaos  of  raw  material  afforded  by  public  lands 
for  the  purpose  of  its  conversion  into  the  orderly  fruits  of 
settlement  and  toil. 

The  first  hardy  men  who  pushed  themselves  over  the  Alle- 
ganies  used  the  rifle  as  much  as  they  did  the  hoe.  The  one 
was  as  indispensible  in  creating  settlements  in  the  wilds  as 
was  the  other.  It  was  the  fellow  who  could  shoot  with  one 
hand  and  hoe  with  the  other  who  built  the  states  of  Ken 
tucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  Sometimes  one 
man  watched  with  the  rifle  that  the  other  might  do  more 
hoeing. 

During  this  rifle-and-hoe  period,  the  settler  stood  self 
reliant.  It  was  as  if  he  never  heard  of  the  military.  It  was  not 
until  he  had  built  a  settlement  and  had  erected  a  community 
of  women  and  children  and  had  gathered  of  the  substance  of 
his  toil,  that  he  summoned  the  army;  and  then  the  situation 
was  often  far  from  satisfactory. 

By  the  same  token,  the  general  government  apparently 
paid  little  heed  to  the  pioneers  until  their  accumulations 
were  large  enough  to  attract  attention.  It  seems  never  to 
have  been  thought  of  by  the  authorities  that  those  heralds 
of  national  wealth  need  the  protecting  arm  of  the  soldiery 
during  the  process  of  upbuilding,  just  as  much  as  they  need 
ed  it  after  the  substantiality  of  the  work  had  been  estab 
lished.  It  would  appear  as  if  those  men,  after  defending 
their  clearings,  protecting  their  families  and  raising  their 
crops  under  conditions  that  appalled  even  the  lion-hearted 
nation-builders  of  that  early  period,  must  needs  send  back 
to  the  Potomac  some  properly  engrossed  formality,  big  and 
blatant  with  seal  and  signature:  "To  All  to  Whom  these 
PRESENTS  may  Come,  Greeting:  Feeling  that  we  have 
proved  ourselves  worthy  the  consideration  of  our  brethren 
living  between  the  Alleganies  and  the  Atlantic,  we  pray  you 
to  look  upon  our  property  and  promise,  and  if  they  be  large 
enough  to  warrant  your  good  graces,  we  pray  that  military 
assistance  may  arrive  before  the  next  Indian  uprising.'* 
And  in  stubborn  faith  in  itself  the  old  Northwest  territory 
was  of  national  importance  before  it  saw  an  army  in  com 
mand  of  an  American  general. 

The  forces  of  evolution  and  experience  went  on,  however, 
and  by  the  time  the  stream  of  adventurous  homemakers 


and  nation-builders  crossed  the  Mississippi,  the  army  as 
a  supporting  force  had  got  within  hailing  distance  of  the 
rearguard  of  the  pioneers.  On  the  plains  of  Nebraska  and 
Kansas,  they  bivouacked  together.  Marching  among  the 
foothills  of  the  Rockies,  the  soldier  was  frequently  in  the 
van.  Forts  Kearney,  Laramie,  Bridger  and  yet  others 
whose  names  linger  in  history  as  points  of  exigency  in  the 
conquest  of  territory,  indicate  how  the  army  had  commence 
to  clear  the  way  for  the  settler. 

The  Pacific  Northwest,  like  the  old  Northwest,  settled 
itself.  Its  occupation  by  "the  Boston  man"  was  sporadic. 
First  came  the  sea-farer  and  adventurer  in  ships  to  the 
great  river  and  the  great  sound.  Occasionally  a  vessel 
touched  at  the  settlements,  and  so  it  came  about  that  the 
navy,  rather  than  the  army,  gave  governmental  protection 
to  the  infant  communities.  But  the  navy  could  not  go  inland. 
Yet,  there  was  not  much  definite  attention  directed  from 
the  capitol  to  the  Pacific  Northwest  until  the  establishment 
of  the  49th  parallel  as  the  international  boundary. 

The  decades  following  1830  were  notable  in  that  they 
witnessed  the  unrest  which  populated,  however  sparsely, 
the  great  central  plain  of  the  continent.  Explorations,  like 
those  of  Pike,  Long  and  Fremont,  had  fixed  public  attention 
on  the  little  known  sections  of  the  western  country.  The 
mystic  appeal  of  the  far  places  of  the  land  was  heard  by 
many  a  fireside  in  the  older  states. 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  Rocky  Mountains  would  prove 
no  barrier.  Bonneville  and  Irving  had  played  grand  music 
on  the  lute,  which  in  the  hands  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  had 
seemed  to  the  nation  at  large  to  have  given  forth  a  Circean 
melody.  As  the  settlements  on  Puget  Sound  and  along  the 
Columbia  and  Willamette  were  largely  maritime  in  their 
considerations,  and  smelled  of  salt  water,  so  the  people 
who  were  attracted  by  the  great  solemn  reaches  which 
stretched  away  between  the  Rockies  and  the  Cascades 
were  of  the  earth  earthy,  traveling  from  inland  settlement 
across  inland  plain  to  the  newest  inland  empire  of  the 
nation.  Later  Boones  called  to  newer  Harrods  and  Donelsons 
and  answering  ones  with  their  families  and  stock  and  seeds 
poured  through  other  Cumberland  Gaps  in  a  loftier  range 
than  the  Appalachians  into  a  newer  valley  than  the  Mis 
sissippi,  appropriating  the  last  of  the  nation's  great  nat 
ural  domains — the  Inland  Empire  of  the  Columbia. 

Take  any  epoch  of  human  progress.  Cut  therefrom  the 
segment  of  half  a  century.  Contrast  the  opening  and  closing 
conditions.  Brief  as  is  the  history  of  the  American  nation, 
each  generation  of  its  citizens  has  contrasted  its  sur- 


roundings  with  those  of  its  predecessors  by  fifty  years, 
and  has  been  startled.  The  perspective  of  the  man  of  today 
is  more  startling  than  any  of  its  antecedents.  No  more 
startling  retrospect  is  afforded  in  American  history  than 
is  furnished  by  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Columbia. 


Information  gleaned  by  Lewis  and  Clark  on  their  daring 
exploration  of  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
created  scarcely  a  ripple  upon  the  stream  of  public  attention 
in  Jefferson's  time.  Fifty  years  later  a  cabinet  officer  of 
these  United  States  commented  on  the  lack  of  governmental 
information,  for  military  purposes  only,  of  the  region  of  the 
River  Oregon.  The  half  century  segment  of  progress  of  the 
Inland  Empire  of  the  Columbia,  which  lay  between  Jefferson 
and  Buchanan,  was  without  appreciable  dimension.  The  five 
decades  between  1858  and  1908  exhibit  a  vast  territory  trans 
formed  from  the  unproductive  sovereignty  of  thesiwashto  a 
potent  agency  in  international  commerce,  from  a  population 
'of  a  few  hundred  savages  to  a  half  million  souls  in  active, 
throbbing  touch  with  the  world's  marts. 

As  was  the  case  with  the  old  northwest  of  the  Scioto  and 
the  Wabash,  the  strong  arm  of  the  soldier  was  interposed  be 
tween  the  daring  home  maker  and  the  Indian  whom  he  dis 
possessed.  The  Pacific  Northwest,  also,  had  its  Fallen  Tim 
bers  and  its  Tippecanoe.  Puget  Sound  and  the  Willamette 
valley  looked  toward  the  gray  ocean  and  received  their  people 
from  its  bosom.  The  upper  Columbia  valley  and  its  trib 
utaries  received  their  settlers  as  they  descended  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Rockies. 

Before  naif  a  century  had  elapsed  after  the  first  official 
government  expedition  had  penetrated  to  the  Pacific  North 
west,  Whitman  had  closed  his  trek  at  Wailatpu.  The  echoes 
of  the  voices  of  some  statesmen  protesting  against  the  fu 
tility  and  emphasizing  the  danger  of  recognizing  the  terra 
incognito  of  the  Columbia  had  not  died  out  in  the  national 
capital.  But  the  fecund  stirrings  of  the  popular  will  vibrated 
to  the  tones  of  Benton,  pleading  that  the  nation  do  not  throw 
away  a  promising  and  priceless  heritage.  The  phrase, 
"across  the  plains  by  ox  team,"  had  its  origin  in  years 
earlier  than  1858,  and  in  the  exodus  from  the  old  states  the 
people  themselves  had  cast  the  die. 

The  advent  of  settlers  in  the  Walla  Walla  valley  resulted 


in  bloodshed.  The  volunteer  riflemen  of  the  new  Northwest 
were  fit  successors  in  spirit  and  accomplishment  to  the 
buckskins  who  followed  old  George  Rogers  Clark.  After  the 
Cayuse  war,  with  its  record  of  woe,  had  come  and  gone, 
Governor  Stevens  of  Washington  territory,  also  Indian  super 
intendent  in  the  Pacific  Northwest,  concluded  treaties  with 
some  of  the  tribes.  Dilatoriness  at  the  national  capitol 
thwarted  conciliation.  Each  week  the  settlers  poured  through 
the  passes  of  the  Rockies.  Each  month  increased  the  tension 
wherever  the  settler  came  in  contact  with  the  natives,  re 
sentful  at  the  intrusion  upon  their  valleys  and  hillsides.  The 
storm  burst  in  the  Columbia  valley  early  in  1858.  There  had 
been  patters  of  conflict  along  the  Yakima  and  on  the  lower 
Columbia,  but  the  outburst  which  effectively  cleared  the 
atmosphere  fell  in  1858. 


In  1857  there  had  been  Indian  unrest  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  the  crack  of  the  army  rifle  had  been  heard 
along  the  Gila  river,  and  in  Texas  and  New  Mexico  leaden 
compliments  had  been  exchanged  with  Navajo,  Kiowa  and 
Comanche.  In  the  fastnesses  of  the  Everglades  of  Florida 
government  regulars  and  state  volunteers  had  clashed  with 
the  remnant  of  Seminoles. 

When  the  new  year  came,  its  heritage  was  the  accumulated 
troubles  of  its  predecessors.  In  its  very  first  weeks  the 
Second  cavalry  had  "chastised"  a  party  of  Indians  on  the 
San  Geronimo  in  New  Mexico  and  "recaptured  horses  of 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


which  they  had  robbed  the  settlers."  The  Indian  uprisings 
of  the  year  involved  not  only  the  Utes,  Comanches,  Kiowas, 
Kickapoos,  Apaches,  Cheyennes,NavajosandWichitas,inthe 
Southwest,  but  also  the  Seminoles  in  the  far  Southeast  and 
the  Sioux  along  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  as  well  as  the 
tribes  of  the  upper  Columbia.  The  territory  of  Washington 
alone  saw  three  expeditions— that  of  Steptoe,  which  came 
very  near  annihilation,  that  of  Garnett  along  the  Yakima 
and  that  of  Wright  into  the  Spokane  country.  In  addition,  the 
Mormons  of  Utah  were  in  a  state  of  active  rebellion  against 
the  government.  The  spirit  of  unrest  was  over  the  plains  and 
mountains  and  valleys  of  the  entire  west. 


Chief  Lawyer 

The  actual  strength  of  the  United  States  army  in  the  sum 
mer  of  the  year  was  17,498  officer  sand  men,  and  the  demands 
made  upon  the  soldiery  were  so  diversified  and  so  widespread 
that  they  "were  distributed  throughout  the  states  and  ter 
ritories  of  the  entire  confederacy,  manning  all  the  forti 
fications,  holding  all  the  posts  now  garrisoned,  defending 
all  our  extended  frontiers  and  protecting,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  different  routes  across  the  continent  from  the  Mississippi 
to  our  possessions  on  the  Pacific." 

Secretary  of  War  Floyd  complained  that  only  thirteen  reg 
iments  were  available  for  the  work  of  quelling  the  epidemic 
of  troubles— a  little  over  11,000  men  to  cope  with  "the  ar 
duous  duty  of  prosecuting  all  the  Indian  wars,  which  have 
extended  this  year  from  the  British  possessions  on  the 
Pacific  to  the  borders  of  Texas;  as  well  as  of  crushing  the 
rebellion  in  Utah  which,  from  its  vindictive  spirit  and  large 
numbers,  threatened  at  its  outset  to  become,  and  indeed  was, 
very  formidable." 

Those  of  the  present  generation  who  recall  the  apparent 
ease  and  facility  with  which  troops,  their  equipment  and 
subsistence  were  transported  by  steam  during  the  Cuban 
and  Philippine  campaigns  of  1898,  may  well  be  reminded 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  the  soldiers  of  forty 
years  earlier  performed  their  duty.  There  was  much  to  do 
outside  of  fight  the  red  man.  Hark  back  across  a  half  cen 


tury  and  note  the  strides  taken  witnessing  the  following 
paragraph  from  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War: 
"These  marches  in  the  main,  have  been  made  through 
the  uninhabited  solitudes  and  sterile  deserts  which  stretch 
away  between  the  settlements  on  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic 
coasts,  upon  routes  which  afforded  nothing  to  facilitate  the 
advance,  except  only  the  herbage  which  the  beasts  of  bur 
den  might  pluck  by  the  wayside.  Every  item  of  supply, 
from  a  horseshoe  nail  to  the  largest  piece  of  ordnance,  has 
been  carried,  from  the  depots  along  the  whole  line  of  these 
tedious  marches,  to  be  ready  at  the  exact  moment  when  ne 
cessity  might  call  for  them.  The  country  traversed  could 
yield  nothing.  The  labor,  foresight,  method  and  care  requi 
site  to  systematize,  and  the  energy,  activity  and  persist 
ence  to  carry  out  such  operations  by  the  different  depart 
ments,  deserve  the  attention  of  the  country,  and  in  my 
judgment,  its  commendation,  too." 


Chief  Garry.  Spokane 

Hear!  Hear!  Ye  people  of  a  fifty-year-old  land! 

Uninhabited  solitudes?  Speak  up,  ye  cities  of  the  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  plains,  of  the  valleys  of  Colorado  and  Utah, 
of  the  stretches  of  Wyoming  and  Idaho. 

Sterile  deserts?  Make  answer,  ye  corn  fields  of  the  Platte, 
ye  cantaloup  vines  of  Rocky  Ford,  ye  alfalfa  levels  of  the 
Snake,  ye  orchards  of  the  Yakima,  ye  wheat-greened  hills 
of  the  Palouse. 

Nothing  to  facilitate  the  advance?  Blow  the  whistles  of 
your  locomotives,  ye  transcontinental  railways,  and  pass 
the  word  to  your  connecting  lines. 

Tedious  marches?  Shunt  out  your  Pullmans  and  obser 
vation  coaches,  ye  St.  Paul,  Burlington,  Union  Pacific, 
"Katy,"  Rio  Grande  "All  trains  will  give  right  of  way  to 
Extra  Special  No.  1,  government  troops  on  board." 

Yield  nothing?  Fling  out  your  beef  and  bacon,  ye  packers 
by  the  Kaw.  Divert  that  shipload  of  flour  consigned  to 
China,  ye  millers  of  the  Spokane.  Uncover  your  haystacks, 
ye  farmers  of  the  Flathead.  Hurry  forward  more  blankets, 
Eastern  Oregon. 


VISIONS  OF  LONG  AGO 


Regarding  the  operations  carried  on  by  the  army  in  1858, 
Secretary  Floyd  submitted  the  following  epitome: 

"Our  little  army  has  been  called  upon  during  the  last  year 
to  carry  on  a  war  extending  over  nearly  the  whole  space 
embraced  between  the  parallels  32  degrees  and  48  degrees, 
north  latitude,  and  extending  over  a  space  of  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  miles.  It  is  not,  then,  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  our  thirteen  regiments,  engaged  in  those  wars  and  the 
Mormon  rebellion,  should  have  been  called  upon  in  the  per 
formance  of  these  arduous  services,  to  accomplish  the 
extraordinary  feat  of  marching  an  average  of  nearly  thir 
teen  hundred  miles." 

Out  of  the  experiences  of  this  year  of  extensive  operations, 
"necessarily  larger  by  far  than  at  any  previous  time  since 
the  Mexican  war  and  with  difficulties  and  embarrassments 
surrounding  at  every  step  which  were  never  at  any  time 
greater,"  came  propositions  to  facilitate  movements  of 
troops  and  their  necessities.  Transportation  was  the  great 
problem.  The  suggestion  is  eerie  that  camels  were  ever 
mentioned  for  use  in  the  "Great  American  Desert."  Yet  in 
sober  earnest  Secretary  Floyd  wrote  the  following  in  an 
official  communication: 

Of  the  need  of  this  northern  read  across  the  continental 
divide,  Secretary  Floyd  wrote  to  President  Buchanan: 

"I  have  but  little  hesitation  in  saying  that  a  most  impor 
tant  line  of  intercommunication  between  the  Mississippi 
valley  and  the  river  Oregon  will  yet  be  opened  upon  a  line 
extending  from  Lake  Superior  along  the  waters  of  the  upper 
Missouri  to  those  of  the  Oregon.  At  all  events,  we  need 
much  information  about  this  country,  which  nothing  but  a 


careful  exploration  can  give.  There  are  strong  grounds  to 
believe  that  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Missouri 
and  those  of  the  river  Oregon  a  portage  of  not  more  than 
four  hundred  miles  intervenes.  If  this  should  turn  out  to  be 
true,  and  the  ground  should  prove  suitable  for  the  construc 
tion  of  a  road,  this  route  will  eventually  be  one  of  the  most 
important  yet  discovered  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Pacific  for  military  purposes." 

One  is  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  Secretary  Floyd  ap 
proached  the  topic  of  a  northern  transcontinental  route  in 
language  so  tentative.  He  must  have  known  that  Mullan  had 
already  commenced  the  construction  of  the  wagon  road 
over  the  mountains.  A  number  of  years  earlier  Isaac  I. 
Stevens,  governor  of  Washington,  acting  under  orders  of  the 
war  department  by  direction  of  Congress,  had  discovered  a 
feasible  route  for  a  railroad,  heralding  the  Northern  Pacific. 
Stevens'  lieutenants  had  traversed  the  passes  of  the  Rockies 
in  several  places  Detailed  reports  of  their  discoveries  and 
their  recommendations  had  been  on  file  at  Washington  for 
several  years. 

The  significance  of  the  quotation  lies  in  the  contrast  it 
makes  conspicuous.  It  shows  that  the  high  authorities  at 
Washington  considered  the  military  aspect  of  the  immediate 
outlook  as  paramount.  Virginian  and  Pennsylvanian  of  fifty 
years  ago  had  not  in  embryo  a  conception  of  the  commercial 
importance  of  the  country  which  formed  the  subject  of  their 
military  lucubrations.  Three  years  later  the  Civil  war  burst 
forth,  and  it  was  discovered  that  this  same  John  B.  Floyd 
had  flung  into  the  seceding  states  all  he  dared  of  the  United 
States  quartermaster,  commissary  and  ordnance  stores. 


INDIAN   WARS   OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


2 


!    War  in  Washington  — Causes 


The  causes  of  the  uprising  of  the  various  tribes  in  the 
Columbia  valley  in  1858  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  occurrences 
of  any  single  year  or  in  any  one  line  of  consideration.  Under 
lying  each  one  of  the  specific  differences  which  contributed 
to  this  particular  conflict  was  the  foment  which  is  as  old  as  is 
civilized  America,  as  old  as  is  the  time  when  progressive 
races  began  to  push  aside  and  subjugate  those  other  races 
which  made  no  advance  toward  maturity  of  the  completion  of 
the  world's  destiny. 

It  was  the  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  aborigine  and 
the  all-conquering  Anglo-Saxon.  The  strife  had  commenced 
when  the  first  European  colonist  set  foot  on  the  western 
shores  of  the  Atlantic.  The  present  generation,  in  regarding 
the  edifice  built  by  the  forefathers  in  the  nation,  is  not 
disturbed  in  his  daily  life  by  the  chips  and  sawdust  and  noise, 
and  perhaps  the  casualties  and  mistakes  which  attended  its 
building.  The  long  series  of  Indian  wars  has  been  but  the 
necessary  concomitant  of  rearing  the  national  structure. 

Humanitarians  have  wept  over  the  sad  fate  of  the  native 
races,  but  it  is  the  inexorable  law  of  progress  that  one  type, 
or  one  civilization,  must  snuff  out  another  which  has  served 
its  purpose.  The  process  results  in  the  necessary  tragedies 
of  human  history.  When,  hemmed  in  between  the  tide  of  immi 
gration  descending  the  western  flanks  of  the  Rockies  and  the 
sturdy  young  settlements  along  the  lower  Columbia,  the  Cow- 
litz  and  Puget  Sound,  with  the  British  possessions  on  the 
north,  the  Indian  of  the  upper  Columbia  could  go  no  further. 
As  a  race,  the  red  man  had  "slowly  and  sadly  climbed  the 
distant  mountain  and  read  his  doom  in  the  setting  sun."  It 
would  be  a  craven  race  which  would  sit  supinely  in  the  tepee 
and  watch  an  aggressor  calmly  avail  himself  of  favorite 
fishing  ground,  of  valued  hunting  range,  of  beloved  valley. 
The  American  Indian  was  never  a  craven. 

In  the  breast  of  Palouse,  Yakima,  Spokane  and  Coeur 
d'Alene  beat  the  heart  of  the  American  native.  In  offering 
resistance  to  the  white  man,  the  Inland  Empire  Indian  was 
animated  by  the  same  sentiment  which  actuated  King  Philip 
to  pit  his  arrowed  Aampanoags  against  New  England  settlers, 
which  inspired  Pontiac  to  weave  his  conspiracy,  which  drew 
the  followers  of  Tecumseh  to  Tippecanoe,  which  called  to 
Osceola  to  gather  his  remnant  of  Seminoles  within  the  Ever 
glades. 

In  one  sense,  the  Inland  Empire  in  1858  saw  the  last  war 
waged  by  the  United  States  to  extinguish  native  title  to  a 
considerable  territory.  '*If  the  soldiers  come  north  of  the 


Nez  Perces  river,  we  will  fight;  this  land  is  ours,"  was  the 
ultimatum  of  the  natives  sent  to  the  commander  at  Fort  Walla 
Walla.  In  later  Indian  wars  the  issue  was  not  so  concisely 
drawn.  Captain  Jack  and  his  Modoc  braves  in  the  lava  beds  of 
Oregon  were  at  best  but  outlaws  from  the  Klamath  reser 
vation.  Sitting  Bull  resisted  in  his  Indian  fashion  govern 
mental  attempts  to  quarter  him  at  an  agency.  Joseph  and  his 
Nez  Perce  band  pleaded  treaty  violation.  Geronimo's  wild 
spirit  was  ever  for  bloodshed  whenever  he  could  break  out  of 
his  Arizona  corral.  Kamiahkin  and  the  allied  tribes  of  1858 
sought  to  establish  for  themselves  a  reserve  north  of  the 
Snake  river  which  had  been  the  pleasant  abode  of  their  fathers 
for  generations.  They  relinquished  a  part  of  their  heritage, 
hoping  thus  to  retain  the  residue. 


Kam-i-ah-kin 
Head  Chief  of  the  Yakimas 

That  Kamiahkin  instigated  a  conspiracy  of  the  tribes  of 
the  northern  Columbia  has  never  been  denied.  The  discus 
sion  has  been  over  the  degree  to  which  the  various  elements 
within  his  sphere  of  influence  had  been  welded.  A  Yakima, 
he  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  many  tribes.  He  had 
been  instrumental  in  rousing  his  own  tribe  to  hostility  in 
1856.  More  than  any  other  Indian  of  the  tribes  between  the 


Cascades  and  the  Rockies,  he  was  the  persistenand  implac 
able  opponent  of  the  whites.  None  equalled  him  in  craftiness 
or  persuasiveness.  At  the  Walla  Walla  council  of  1855  he 
had  stood  aloof  from  the  conference.  He  had  spurned  the 
gifts  of  Governor  Stevens.  He  left  the  council  before  its 
conclusion,  in  fact,  never  having  been  a  member  of  it.  Wheth 
er  Kamiahkin  was  able  to  form  a  confederation  in  the  sense 
of  an  actual  union  cannot  be  asserted.  That  he  formed  some 
sort  of  coalition,  composed  of  some  tribal  chiefs,  consid 
erable  numbers  of  warriors  of  numerous  tribes  and  the 
restless  outlaw  element  of  nearly  every  tribe  in  the  basin 
of  the  Columbia  cannot  be  denied. 

The  Spokanes,  Palouse,  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Pend 
Oreilles  were  not  parties  to  the  Walla  Walla  treaties. 
Among  these  tribes  the  fierce  maledictions  and  anathemas 
launched  by  Kamiahkin  against  the  whites  found  many  eager 
listeners.  He  looked  with  contempt  upon  "treaty"  Indians 
and  gave  meed  of  praise  and  flattery  to  those  who  had  not 
marked  upon  the  white  man's  paper. 

Kamiahkin' s  influence  was  felt  more  strongly  than  else 
where  among  the  Palouse.  These  Indians  were  the  natural 
enemies  of  the  Nez  Perces.  Whatever  had  been  their  de 
scent,  in  1858  they  were  not  a  tribe  in  the  ethnological 
meaning  of  the  word.  Many  of  them  were  of  the  Palus  stock, 
which,  prior  to  admixture  with  other  tribes,  had  for  years 
occupied  the  territory  north  of  the  Nez  Perces.  The  rene 
gades  hostile  to  the  Nez  Perce  found  haven  with  the  Palouse. 
Then  their  territory  became  a  refuge  for  the  outlaws  of  the 
various  tribes  occupying  contiguous  territory,  and  finally 
for  the  cast-offs  of  all  tribes.  This  process  of  intermixture 
of  various  elements,  in  which  ishmaelitism  predominated, 
had  gone  on  for  generations  until  in  1858  the  Palouse  were 
a  tribe  of  mongrel  banditti.  Their  nominal  chief  was  Til-co 
ax.  Much  influence  was  wielded  by  one  whom  the  whites 
called  Blue  Jacket.  But  Kamiahkin  dominated  them. 

Farther  removed  from  the  outposts  of  the  whites  and  less 
in  touch  with  the  activities  of  the  settlers  were  the  Spo 
kanes.  Their  home  territory  embraced  the  country  of  the 
lower  Spokane  river.  They  maintained  a  show  of  tribal  or 
ganization.  They  were  peaceably  inclined.  In  fact,  no  occa 
sion  had  ever  arisen  which  demanded  a  declaration  of  their 
attitude  towards  the  whites.  Their  chief  was  Garry,  who  had 
been  educated  in  the  settlements  of  the  Red  River  of  the 
North,  through  the  instrumentality  of  some  officers  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  He  opposed  antagonizing  the  whites. 
Pohlatkin  was  the  leader  of  the  war  element  of  the  tribe. 
The  Coeur  d'Alenes,  lived  to  the  east  of  the  Spokanes, 
along  the  upper  Spokane  and  amid  the  mountains  of  northern 
Idaho.  For  a  decade  and  a  half  many  of  the  tribe  had  been 
under  the  influence  of  Jesuit  missionaries  who  had  estab 
lished  a  mission  and  had  taught  something  of  husbandry. 
As  has  been  the  case  with  mountain  men  in  every  age  and 
in  every  part  of  the  globe,  these  men  were  recognized  as 
antagonists  of  no  mean  metal  should  they  once  become 
aroused.  They  had  never  gone  on  the  warpath  against  the 
whites,  whether  "King  George  man"  or  "Boston  man." 
Yet,  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  perhaps  more  than  any  other 
considerable  tribe  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  had  from  the 
commencement  of  the  coming  of  whites  into  their  territory 
stubbornly  refused  to  engage  with  them  under  any  circum 
stances.  They  owe  their  name  to  this  sentiment.  The  gentle 


Jesuit  priests  seemed  to  be  the  only  ones  who  could  either 
influence  them  or  deal  with  them.  Their  territory  included 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  lakes  in  the  entire  world,  a  body 
of  water  hemmed  in  by  mountains  which  sheltered  an  abun 
dance  of  game,  especially  of  the  valuable  fur  bearing  kinds. 
To  the  shores  of  this  lake,  in  the  twilight  of  discovery 
came  one  late  autumn  a  couple  of  French  Canadian  trappers 
in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  They  felici 
tated  themselves  upon  the  richness  of  their  discovery  and 
congratulated  themselves  upon  the  fact  that  they  were  not 
molested  by  the  natives.  The  outlook  was  so  promising 
they  determined  to  winter  there,  setting  their  traps  at 
places  of  vantage.  But  only  occasionally  was  the  quarry 
found  in  their  cunning  devices.  The  snow  came  heavy  in  the 
mountains  and  game  disappeared.  Provisions  ran  short. 
They  asked  their  native  neighbors  for  smoked  and  dried 
fish.  They  were  refused,  except  insofar  as  sufficient  to 
sustain  life  through  the  long  winter.  Severe  hardships  were 
suffered,  but  the  red  men  were  inexorable.  They  would  not 
take  the  white  men's  lives.  They  would  not  allow  them  to 
starve.  They  would  see  that  the  strangers  would  not  freeze. 
Otherwise  the  newcomers  were  as  if  dogs. 

In  the  early  spring  these  two  wayfarers  of  the  forest  sol 
itudes  reported  empty  handed  to  their  factor  at  York  or 
Athabasca  house  and  told  their  tale  of  privation  and  suf 
fering  in  the  midst  of  native  plenty  among  the  Indians  not 
yet  known  by  name  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  people.  They  de 
scribed  the  section  of  the  country,  its  mountains  and  its 
lakes.  The  French  Canadian  servants  of  the  great  fur  gath 
ering  company  were  responsible  for  many  of  the  names  of 
localities  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  which  were  French  in 
origin.  They  usually  set  forth  some  characteristic  of  the  tribe 
occupying  any  particular  portion  of  the  unknown  lands.  These 
Indians  had  complacently  watched  the  sufferings  of  their  two 
unwelcome  and  uninvited  visitors.  The  trappers  had  been  in  a 
pitiable  plight,  but  the  red  men  showed  no  pity.  These  natives 
had  not  the  great  heart  which  would  lead  them  to  treat  all  men 
as  brothers;  such  hearts  must  be  very  small  indeed.  Among 
the  lightest  of  the  indispensable  articles  of  use  carried  by  the 
trappers  was  a  little  needle-like  a  bit  of  steel.  Pushed  through 
a  piece  of  tanned  deerskin  designed  for  a  moccasin,  it  made  a 
hole  so  small  as  to  be  most  desirable  in  moccasin  making. 
This  was  the  inspiration  of  the  trappers.  Those  Indians  had 
hearts  so  small  as  to  be  inconsiderable.  In  their  patois  this 
characteristic  came  out  "coeur  d'  alene"— heart  of  an  awl. 
The  Pend  d'Oreilles  of  the  lower  river  of  that  name  were 
the  only  Indians  in  considerable  numbers,  other  than  the  ones 
mentioned,  upon  whom  Kamiahkin  could  count  in  arraying  the 
natives  against  the  white  intruders  on  the  south.  They,  too, 
had  received  their  name  from  the  old  trappers  who  had  noted 
the  common  fashion  of  wearing  pieces  of  bone  "pendant  from 
the  ear."  They  were  usually  inclined  to  peace.  The  Hudson's 
Bay  people  had  ever  been  friendly  with  them.  They  had  not 
come  in  close  contact  with  the  American  whites.  A  few  lodges 
of  the  Pend  d'Oreilles  did  join  Kamiahkin.  Some  were  rela 
tives  of    Spokanes  and  Coeur  d'Alenes  who  were  for  an  ag 
gressive  defense  of  their  camass  grounds  and  fishing  fords. 
Of  great  aid  to  Kamiahkin  in  spreading  his  propaganda  of 
common  cause  against  the  blue-coated  soldier  and  the  settler 
who  always  came  with  him,  as  Smohalla,  just  then  beginning 
to  preach  his  doctrine  of  an  Indian  redeemer  who  was  shortly 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


to  appear  and,  if  the  good  Indians  of  the  Columbia  valley  were 
so  minded,  would  drive  out  the  whites  from  the  land  and 
deliver  it  once  more  to  the  natives.  Smohalla'shome  was  at 
Pna,  on  the  Columbia  river  near  Priest  Rapids.  In  brief, 
Smohalla  taught  that  the  present  and  future  salvation  of  the 
Indians  lay  in  accepting  faith  in  this  coming  Indian  messiah. 
This  Indian  was  a  preacher  rather  than  a  militant.  His 
message  fell  upon  ears  which  had  been  by  circumstances  of 
the  p<ist  few  years  attuned  to  just  this  kind  of  vibration.  In 
the  tom-tom  music  just  then  acceptable  to  the  natives 
Smohalla  and  Kamiahkin,  the  one  religious  fanatic  and  the 
other  a  crafty  warrior,  played  a  most  pleasing  and  inspir 
iting  duet. 


It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  discovery  of  gold 
on  the  Fraser  river  in  British  Columbia  and  in  the  Colville 
valley,  was  luring  the  argonauts  northward  across  the  dispu 
ted  country.  The  presence  of  occasional  par  ties  of  gold  seek 
ers,  many  of  whom  were  not  careful  to  observe  the  amenities, 
irritated  the  Indians.  These  caravans  ever  reminded  the 
hostile  element  of  the  invasion  of  their  grounds.  They  were 
seized  upon  by  the  agitators  as  an  illustration  which  needed 
no  proof.  The  impassioned  Spokane  Patrick  Henry,  looking 
down  from  some  hilltop  commanding  a  view  of  the  old  Col 
ville  trail,  might  well  exclaim:  "Our  chains  are  already 
forged;  their  clanking  may  be  heard  in  yonder  cavalcade!" 


WAR  IN  WASHINGTON  -  CAUSES 


3 


Some  Specific  Agencies 


That  was  the  general  condition  in  the  Indian  tinder  box 
of  the  upper  Columbia,  when  several  separate  inflammatory 
considerations  combined  to  ignite  the  latent  combustibles. 
Some  of  these  inciting  forces  proceeded  from  the  whites 
and  some  from  the  reds.  What  either  party  actually  did  was 
interpreted  by  the  other,  and  in  the  process  of  friction  the 
caustic  qualities  came  to  the  surface.  No  single  element, 
perhaps,  could  have  started  the  flames. 

Up  to  1858  the  Federal  government  had  pursued  a  policy 
of  pacification  with  the  tribes  of  the  Columbia.  The  North 
western  Indians  had  been  admonished  by  a  show  of  the  army, 
which  had  been  serving  much  the  same  purpose  as  the 
birch  switch  always  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  desk  of 
the  schoolmaster.  But  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when 
the  familiarity  of  the  exhibition  had  ceased  to  carry  awe. 
Chastisement  was  bound  to  come,  and  no  one  knew  it  better 
than  the  army  officers  of  the  Columbia  and  the  settlers  of 
the  region  when  it  became  known  that  the  peaceful  termi 
nation  of  the  Yakima  difficulty  of  1856  had  been  interpret 
ed  by  the  Indians  as  evidence  that  the  government  faltered. 
To  the  Indians  the  whites  seemed  to  be  divided,  as  indeed 
they  were.  The  settlers  wanted  land.  That  the  formality  of 
ratifying  the  treaties  made  by  Governor  Stevens  had  not 
been  consummated  by  the  authorities  at  Washington,  seemed 
a  matter  of  minor  importance  to  the  man  who  had  crossed 
the  continental  divide  for  the  express  purpose  of  settling  on 
Indian  land.  The  army  officer  had  received  instruction  not 
to  permit  settlements  upon  non-treaty  lands  or  upon  the  lands 
which  were  the  subject  of  unratified  agreements.  The  settlers 
berated  the  army,  and  the  army  chided  the  settlers.  And 
the  watchful  Indian  noted  and  took  courage. 

The  Stevens  treaties,  made  in  good  faith  in  1855,  had  not 
been  ratified  by  the  government  when  1858  opened.  Con 
gress  and  the  Buchanan  administration,  across  the  conti 
nent  from  the  Columbia,  were  engrossed  in  problems  which 
it  took  the  greatest  civil  war  of  history  to  solve.  There  was 
the  hardest  kind  of  work  at  the  national  capital.  The  troubles 
of  a  few  hundred  settlers  way  off  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  a 
region  to  which  clear  title  had  been  obtained  by  the  govern 
ment  only  after  a  long  diplomatic  entente  of  disputed  expedi 
ency,  in  a  territory  whose  value  to  the  nation  was  of 
exceedingly  doubtful,  until  consideration  which  bore  directly 
upon  the  integrity  of  the  Union  could  be  settled  or  might  be 
considered  as  well  on  the  way  to  settlement.  In  the  meantime 
the  settlers  poured  through  the  mountain  passes  in  a  con 
stantly  increasing  stream.  And  they  insisted  upon  having 
land.  And  the  land  they  wanted  lay  in  the  fertile  valleys  to 


which  Indian  Title  had  not  been  extinguished.  And  the  army 
told  them  that  they  could  not  settle  here  and  they  could  not 
settle  there. 

The  territorial  authorities  were  indignant.  The  older, 
sturdier  settlements  on  Puget  Sound  sympathized  with  their 
younger  brothers  east  of  the  Cascades.  In  the  parlance  of 
the  modern  booster,  the  fathers  of  the  territory  saw  that  it 
was  going  to  get  a  black  eye  if  the  newcomers  sent  word 
back  to  the  east  that  they  were  unable  to  get  land.  Repression 
of  immigrants  would  retard  growth.  Here  was  the  richest  land 
in  the  world  awaiting  settlement;  and  a  dilatory  government 
and  an  officious  army  were  quibbling  over  a  mere  for 
mality — a  formality  which  had  at  its  best  to  do  only  with  a 
race  of  worthless  siwashes  who  were  continually  marauding 
and  thieving. 

The  staunchest  friend  the  territory  ever  had  was  Governor 
Isaac  I.  Stevens.  He  was  an  enthusiast  on  the  Pacific  North 
west.  Commissioned  by  the  government,  he  had  negotiated 
the  treaties  at  the  Walla  Walla  Council.  In  the  line  of  his  duty 
he  had  undergone  hardship,  suffered  the  discomforts  of 
breaking  through  the  wilderness  and  had  resolutely  faced 
threatening  danger  from  the  natives  themselves.  In  him 
peoples  of  the  territory  had  implicit  faith.  He  was  now  ter 
ritorial  delegate  in  congress.  He  could  urge  things  along 
now  if  the  people  along  the  Columbia  and  the  rivers  and 
bays  west  of  the  Cascades  would  but  hold  up  his  arms,  and 
thrust  into  them  a  prod. 

It  would  be  manifestly  discourteous  to  accuse  congress  of 
having  been  dilatory.  In  1858,  as  now,  that  body  had  a  sense  of 
the  proprieties  and  its  own  dignity.  But  there  was  the  army. 
Congress  would  not  be  offended  if  the  army  were  prodded, 
and  just  then  the  citizens  took  delight  in  wrestling  with  the 
army.  If  the  army  should  call  attention  of  congress  to  the  fact 
that  the  people  out  in  Washington  Territory  were  pestering 
the  army,  the  facts  in  the  case  might  at  least  receive  at 
tention. 

Early  in  1858  the  territorial  assembly  passed  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  Certain  officers  of  the  United  States  army, 
commanding  in  the  county  of  Walla  Walla,  have  unlaw 
fully  assumed  to  issue  orders  prohibiting  citizens  of 
this  territory  from  settleing  in  certain  portions  there 
of,  and  in  accordance  with  said  orders  have  driven  citi 
zens  and  settlers  from  their  claims  and  home  acquired 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  their  great  injury. 

THEREFORE,  be  it  resolved  by  the  legislative  as- 


sembly  of  the  territory  of  Washington  that  in  our  opinion 
the  said  orders  are  without  the  authority  of  law,  and  that 
the  acts  done  under  such  orders  are  a  high  handed  out 
rage  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  American  people. 

RESOLVED,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  give  the 
proper  authorities  at  Washington  all  necessary  informa 
tion  on  the  subject  of  the  outrageous  usurpation  of  the 
military  over  civil  authority. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  believe  the  above  usurpation  to 
be  the  very  worst  form  of  martial  law,  proclaimed  by 
tyrants  not  having  feeling  in  common  with  us,  nor  in 
terests  identified  with  ours. 

RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  be 
forwarded  to  our  delegate  in  Congress,  and  that  he  be 
requested  to  represent  the  matter  to  the  proper  depart 
ment  in  Washington  city,  to  the  end  that  the  evil  be 
corrected. 

Passed  January  15,  1858. 

J.S.M.  VanCleave 

Speaker,  House  of  Representatives 

C.C.  Pagett 

President  of    the    Council 

A    true    copy 
Attest: 

Secretary's  office 
Olympia,  January  25,  1858 

C.  H.  Mason 

Secretary  of  the  Territory 

That  reads  like  a  leaf  from  the  history  of  Massachusetts- 
settlers  on  another  coast  distressed  by  other  soldiery.  The 
air  about  the  old  statehouse  in  Olympia  must  have  been 
very  like  that  which  in  former  years  kissed  the  windows  of 
Faneuil  Hall.  Mayhap  the  spirits  of  John  Hancock  and  Fisher 
Ames  dwelt  hard  by  Budd's  Inlet  in  the  winter  of  1858. 
They  hurried  the  document  across  the  continent  and  de 
livered  its  destiny  into  the  hands  of  the  faithful  Stevens. 
Communication  was  slow,  and  it  was  not  until  more  than 
two  months  had  elapsed  before  James  G.  Swan  of  Olympia, 
private  secretary  to  Delegate  Stevens  was  enabled  to  place 
it  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  accompanied  by  the 
following  note: 

Sir:  I  am  requested  by  Hon.  Isaac  I.  Stevens  to  transmit 
to  you  the  enclosed  copy  of  joint  resolutions  of  the  legis 
lative  assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Washington,  relative 
to  citizens  and  settlers  in  Walla-Walla  county  being 
driven  from  their  homes  and  claims  by  the  military 
authorities  of  Washington  Territory,  and  to  respectfully 
call  your  attention  to  the  great  importance  to  the  inter 
ests  of  Washington  Territory  that  this  matter  be  prompt 
ly  attended  to  at  your  earliest  convenience. 
I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient, 

James  G.  Swan 

Hon.  John  B.  Floyd 
Secretary  of  War. 


Floyd  sent  the  resolutions  on  down  the  military  channels 
and  it  came  back  to  the  department  of  the  Pacific.  When 
General  Wool  was  commander  of  the  department  the  dif 
ferences  between  the  army  officers  on  the  Columbia  and  the 
settlers  of  the  territory  had  been  before  him.  He  had  held 
firmly  to  the  old  tradition  that  the  Indian  lands  could  not  be 
taken  up  by  whites  until  the  treaties  were  ratified.  Hazard 
Stevens,  in  his  biography  of  his  father,  the  governor,  refers 
to  General  Wool's  "malignant  animosity"  toward  the  people 
of  the  territory.  General  Newman  S.  Clarke  who  had  suc 
ceeded  Wool  as  department  commander,  replied  with  the 
following: 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Pacific, 
San  Francisco,  California 
June  1,  1858 

Sir:  I  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  letter  of  May  3. 
General  Wool  while  in  command  ordered  that  persons 
should  not  be  permitted  to  settle  in  the  region  of  country 
alluded  to  in  the  resolutions  of  the  teritorial  after  a 
consultation  with  Colonel  Mesmith,  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs,  with  a  view  to  saving  the  Indians  from 
encroachment  from  the  whites,  and  as  a  measure  tend 
ing  to  allay  the  excitement  among  the  former  and  so  keep 
them  from  open  acts  of  hostility.  The  discontent  of  the 
Indians  arose  from  dissatisfaction  with  reference  to  the 
treaty  which  had  been  made,  but  which  had  not  been  ra 
tified,  and  which  remains  unratified  to  this  day. 

In  a  communication  of  mine  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
army,  made  in  January  last,  I  suggested  that  instant 
steps  should  be  taken  to  pacify  the  Indians,  and  their  chiefs 
invited  to  repair  to  Washington,  in  order  that  they  might 
thereby  be  made  to  understand  the  power  of  the  United 
States.  I  now  reiterate  my  suggestions  and  hope  that  they 
may  be  adopted,  expecially  as,  in  consequence  of  recent 
discoveries  of  gold  fields  in  Washington  Territory  and  the 
adjacent  British  possessions,  vast  numbers  of  whites 
are  going  there  for  purposes  of  mining,  who  have  to  go 
there  by  way  of  Puget's  Sound  and  Columbia  river.  In 
such  state  of  things  collisions  will  arise  jeopardizing 
the  lives  of  whites  as  well  as  Indians,  and  bringing  on  a 
general  war,  the  end  of  which  may  be  prolonged  to  a 
distant  day,  and  may  be  carried  only  at  great  expense. 

Efforts  to  pacify  the  Indians  should  be  made  (if  not  now 
to  late)  by  such  generous  and  judicious  appliances  as  may 
be  consistent  with  the  policy  of  the  government. 

Reports  form  Colonel  Steptoe  represents  the  Indians  in 
his  advance  as  hostile,  and  that,  in  fact,  they  have  been 
insolent  in  words  and  deeds,  and  have  so  far  insulted  his 
post  as  to  have  carried  off  cattle  belonging  to  the  public. 
The  Colonel  is  in  the  field  with  the  intention  of  chasti 
zing  them.  He  represents  that  certain  chiefs  and  their 
followers  are  friendly  and  stand  aloof  from  the  solicita 
tions  of  those  who  are  disposed  without  further  delay  to 
make  war.  Nevertheless  sinister  rumors  are  afloat  that 
he  has  met  with  a  repulse.  On  recovering  accurate  infor 
mation  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  with  him,  should  he  have 
encountered  disaster,  I  shall  repair  to  Oregon  and  per 
haps  Walla  Walla,  and  take  steps  to  support  him  as  far 
as  my  means  in  troops  will  enable  me,  in  doing  which  it 


10 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


may  be  necessary  to  withdraw  troops  from  other  points 

at  the  risk  of  endangering  them. 

I  am,   sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  S.  Clarke 

Colonel  6th  Infantry 

Brevet  Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 


Major  General  John  Ellis  Wool 

It  never  became  necessary  to  press  those  resolutions  fur 
ther.  Before  General  Clarke  had  penned  the  foregoing, 
Colonel  Steptoe  had  crossed  the  Snake  on  his  illfated  incur 
sion  into  the  country  of  the  northern  Indians,  and  the  war  was 
on. 

However  exasperating  the  situation  may  have  been  to  the 
settlers,  the  army  was  right  in  its  position  as  a  matter  of 
law  and  justice.  The  military  based  its  course  upon  the  rec 
ommendations  of  the  officials  of  the  Indian  bureau.  J.W. 
Nesmith  a  pioneer  of  Oregon,  a  commissioned  officer  of  the 
militia  in  the  Cayuse  war  and  later  United  States  senator 
from  Oregon,  was  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  both 
Oregon  and  Washington.  In  the  latter  part  of  1857  Colonel 
Nesmith  submitted  the  following  report: 

The  treaties  negotiated  with  those  interior  tribes,  never 
having  been  ratified,  they  are  adverse  to  the  occupation  of 
their  country  by  white  settlers  and  every  endeavor  has 
been  made  to  prevent  intrusion  upon  their  lands  until  such 
time  as  the  government  shall  decide  upon  the  disposition 
to  be  made  of  the  treaties.  In  order  to  relieve  and  quiet 
their  apprehensions  in  relation  to  the  occupation  of  their 
country  by  our  people,  I  directed  Agent  Lansdale,  on  his 
trip  to  the  Flathead  country,  to  explain  to  them  the  failure 
of  the  government  to  comply  with  its  promises  by  reason 
of  the  non-ratification  of  the  treaties,  and  to  assure  them 
that  their  lands  should  not  be  taken  from  them  without 
their  receiving  fair  compensation;  they  were  also  in 
formed  that  until  these  treaties  were  ratified,  they  could 
expect  nothing  from  the  government  in  the  shape  of  an 
nuities  or  subsistence. 


I  would  recommend  that  steps  be  taken  to  throw  open 
the  Walla  Walla  Valley  to  settlement;  it  is  an  advanced 
point  in  the  interior,  which  if  occupied  would  protect  and 
increase  the  facilities  for  an  overland  communication  with 
the  states.  The  Walla  Walla  is  a  rich  valley,  unsurpassed 
in  its  qualities  as  a  grazing  country,  and  as  a  desirable  lo 
cality  for  a  white  settlement.  It  has  already  been  pur 
chased  by  the  treaties  made  by  Governor  Stevens  with  the 
Cayuses  and  Nez  Perces;  as  the  treaties  have  never  been 
ratified,  the  country  is  not  considered  open  to  settlement. 
I  understand  that  the  Indians  express  some  dissatisfaction 
at  those  treaties,  which  may  render  their  modification 
necessary.  The  only  portion  of  the  Country  east  of  the  Cas- 
cales  mountains  now  occupied  by  our  citizens  is  that  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Dalles,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Columbia  river.  This  country  belongs  to  the  Indians 
who  were  parties  to  the  treaty  of  June  25, 1855.  They  have 
been  great  sufferers  by  reason  of  the  occupation  of  their 
country  by  the  whites,  and  have  never  received  any  com 
pensation.  The  treaty  referred  to  is  liberal  in  its  pro 
visions;  the  Indians  who  are  parties  to  it  have  exhibited 
good  faith  towards  our  government;  they  have  been  de 
prived  of  their  lands  and  the  United  States  have  received 
all  the  benefits  of  the  treaty.  I  think  that  justice  as  well  as 
good  policy  should  induce  the  government  to  comply  with 
their  part  of  the  contract. 

Superintendent  Nesmith  also  submitted  recommendations 
calculated  to  inspire  the  discontented  and  apprehensive 
tribes  with  confidence.  The  actual  and  immediate  perfor 
mance  of  the  government's  obligations  with  the  lower  Indians 
would  go  far  toward  allaying  the  suspicions  harbored  by  the 
northern  Indians.  Very  naturally  the  non-treaty  Indians  ex 
pected  to  learn  from  the  government's  treatment  of  the 
treaty  Indians  something  of  what  they  themselves  might 
reasonably  expect.  They  construed  delay  as  possible  intent 
to  pursue  a  course  not  laid  down  in  the  treaty  terms;  else 
why  should  a  great  nation  fail  to  carry  out  its  part  of  an 
agreement?  The  natives  had  implicit  confidence  in  Stevens 
both  as  an  individual  and  as  the  accredited  representative 
of  the  government,  but  they  feared  that  the  officials  in 
authority  over  Stevens  might  not  countenance  all  that  he  had 
done,  with  the  result  that  affairs  were  no  more  settled  than 
they  were  prior  to  the  Walla  Walla  council.  The  red  man, 
understanding  perfectly  the  difference  between  the  settler 
and  the  soldier,  read  in  the  very  presence  of  the  troops  an 
implied  threat  to  circumvent  or  abrogate  some,  or  even  all, 
of  the  treaty  terms. 

There  were  men,  even  in  that  day,  who,  from  one  motive 
or  another,  did  not  hesitate  to  foster  the  disquieting  notions 
of  the  Indians.  Casual  remarks  dropped  by  imprudent  civil 
ians  constituted  another  source  of  complications.  Even 
subordinates  of  the  Indian  bureau  itself  furnished  annoyance 
to  those  who  were  trying  their  best  to  prevent  a  hostile  out 
break. 

Many  of  the  Indians  were  adverse  to  the  treaties.  They  had 
had  three  years  in  which  to  think  them  over.  When  it  is  under 
stood  that  Lawyer  was  the  friend  of  Stevens  and  the  first 
Indian  chief  to  put  his  signature  to  the  Nez  Perce  treaty, 
the  following  letter  is  illuminating: 


SOME  SPECIFIC  AGENCIES 


11 


Fort  Walla  Walla 
October  19,  1857 

Dear  Sir: 

It  is  my  duty  to  inform  the  commanding  general  that 
Mr.  J.  Ross  Brown,  acting  I  believe  as  an  agent  of  the 
Indian  bureau  did  in  a  recent  conversation  with  "Lawyer," 
the  Nez  Perces*  chief  assert  that  Governor  Stevens' 
treaty  of  Walla  Walla  would  certainly  be  ratified  and  en 
forced. 

Mr.  William  Craig,  who  acted  as  interpreter  on  the 
occasion,  gives  me  this  information. 

Considering  that  this  statement  is  in  direct  opposition 
to  what  the  Indians  have  been  told  by  us,  and  to  what  I 
believe  nearly  all  of  them  desire,  it  seems  to  me  in  very 
bad  taste,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  Mr.  Brown  could  not 
possibly  have  known  that  the  treaty  will  be  ratified,  and 


even  if  he  had,  the  proper  time  to  enlighten  the  Indians  on 
the  subject  is  obviously  after  it  has  become  the  law  of  the 
land.  He  had  no  right  to  unsettle  the  Indians  on  a  point 
respecting  which  his  convictions  are  probably  no  stronger 
than  the  opposing  belief  of  many  others  in  daily  inter 
course  with  them. 

I  will  simply  add  that  in  my  opinion  any  attempt  to 
enforce  that  treaty  will  be  followed  by  immediate  hos 
tilities  with  most  of  the  tribes  in  this  part  of  the  country; 
for  which  reason  it  does  appear  to  me  greatly  thoroughly 
digested  and  accepted  by  both  sides. 
Very  respectfully, 
your  obedient  servant 
E.  J.  Steptoe, 
Brevet    Lieutenant    Colonel    U.S.A.   Commanding  Post 

Major  W.  W.  Mackall 

Assistant  Adjutant  General,  U.S.A.  San  Francisco 


12 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


4 


Mormon  Activity 


There  was  another  powerful  influence  which  actively  ap 
pealed  to  the  Indians  in  their  suspicions  and  unsettled  ideas 
of  the  intent  of  the  federal  government.  None  other  than 
Brigham  Young  and  his  Mormon  church  is  alluded  to.  For 
months  the  Latter  Day  Saints  had  been  planning  their  up 
rising  against  the  nation,  and  they  had  not  hesitated  to  attempt 
to  enlist  Indian  tribes  in  their  rebellion. 

No  fanaticism  has  ever  equalled  that  of  a  crusader.  To  no 
band  of  people  has  ever  been  vouchsafed  a  greater  prop  for 
hope  than  that  which  comes  from  religion  or  what  is  con 
sidered  by  them  to  be  religion.  Smohalla  had  inoculated  the 
Columbia  River  tribes  with  his  redeemer  doctrine.  Those 
Indians  saw  and  heard  of  another  sect  whose  religious  be 
lief  resulted  in  opposition  to  the  federal  government.  The 
Indian  never  had  an  adequate  idea  of  the  power  of  the  United 
States,  no  conception  of  the  forces  it  could  command.  It  had 
long  been  the  policy  of  the  officers  at  Walla  Walla  and  other 
military  posts  to  impress  upon  visiting  Indians  the  destruc 
tive  power  of  cannon  and  the  tremendous  sources  from  which 
the  number  soldiers  could  be  drawn.  But  these  failed  to 
teach  the  lesson.  The  native  mind  could  conceive  of  nothing 
of  more  potent  authority  than  some  aggregation  of  their  own 
tribes.  If  they  and  the  Mormons  should  simultaneously 
strike  at  the  government  it  must  surely  fall.  The  times 
would  be  ready  then  for  Smohalla' s  redeemer.  With  the  Mor 
mons  attacking  Washington  and  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific 
Northwest  driving  out  the  "Boston  man"  the  Smohalla  mil- 
lenium  was  dawning! 

The  interference  of  the  Mormons  with  the  Indians  of  the 
west  was  recognized  by  army  officers.  Military  reports  of 
the  time  contain  many  references  to  the  activity  of  Mormon 
emissaries.  Some  officers  viewed  the  situation  as  very 
grave;  others  attached  less  weight  to  the  movement. 

Captain  Kirkham,  at  Walla  Walla,  wrote  General  Clark  at 
San  Francisco  under  the  date  of  December  1,  1857:  "We 
have  recently  received  from  our  Indians  news  from  Salt 
Lake;  they  report  an  engagement  between  our  troop  and  the 
Mormons;  the  infromation  comes  through  the  Snakes,  who 
are  in  direct  communication  with  the  Mormons.  The  Snakes 
tell  our  Indians  that  they  are  well  supplied  with  ammuni 
tion,  and  that  they  can  get  from  the  Mormons  any  quantity 
that  they  wish;  and  they  further  tell  our  Indians  that  the 
Mormons  are  anxious  to  supply  them,  to-wit:  The  Nez 
Perces,  the  Cayuses  and  Walla-Wallas,  with  everything 
that  they  want.  I  would  not  be  surprised  if  the  Mormon  in 
fluence  extended  to  all  the  tribes  in  our  neighborhood,  and 


if  they  are  determined  to  fight  we  may  have  trouble  among 
the  Indians  on  the  coast  again." 

Civilian  George  Gibbs,  from  Puget  Sound,  thus  wrote  to 
General  Clarke  on  November  7th,  1857:  "A  very  curious 
statement  was  recently  made  me  by  some  of  the  Indians  near 
Steilacoom.  They  said  that  the  Klickitats  had  told  them  that 
Choosuklee  (Jesus  Christ)  had  recently  appeared  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains;  that  he  was  after  a  while  com 
ing  here,  when  the  whites  would  be  sent  out  of  the  coun 
try,  and  all  would  be  well  for  themselves.  It  needed  only  a 
little  reflection  to  connect  this  second  advent  with  the  visit 
of  Brigham  Young  to  the  Flathead  and  Nez  Perce  country." 

Major  Garnett,  from  Fort  Simcoe  in  the  Yakima  country, 
reported  on  January  30,  1858:  "It  seems  proper  that  I 
should  report  for  the  information  of  General  Clarke  that  the 
Indian  chief,  "Skloom,"  brother  of  Kamiahkin,  has  recently 
sent  word  to  me  the  second  time  that  the  Mormons  on  one 
or  two  occasions  since  last  summer  have  sent  emissaries 
among  the  Indian  of  this  region  to  incite  them  to  a  union 
with  the  Mormons  in  hostility  to  the  United  States.  He  states 
that  the  chiefs  repel  these  overtures  from  the  Mormons, 
but  that  the  young  men  seem  disposed  to  countenance  them. 
The  Mormons  make  them  large  promises  of  ammunition, 
arms,  cattle,  etc." 

Colonel  Steptoe,  at  Walla  Walla,  on  January  29,  1858, 
added  his  opinion  as  follows:  "That  the  expediency  of  avail 
ing  themselves  of  this  Mormon  revolt  to  recover  some  real 
or  imagined  rights  has  been  discussed  among  them,  I  am 
quite  sure,  but  doubt  whether  they  have  resolved  to  commit 
themselves  to  hostilities  at  the  present.  If  they  should  learn 
that  the  Mormons  have  obtained  any  marked  advantage  over 
the  troops,  or  if  the  contest  in  Utah  should  be  a  protracted 
one,  I  would  then  seriously  apprehend  trouble  with  the  sur 
rounding  tribes." 

General  Clarke  himself,  sitting  at  headquarters  in  San 
Francisco  on  New  Year's  day,  1858,  felt  uneasy  at  the 
outlook.  He  feared  that  the  Mormon  malignity  had  pen 
etrated  to  tribes  all  over  the  Pacific  coast.  In  a  com 
munication  addressed  to  army  headquarters  in  New 
York  he  voiced  this  sentiment:  "The  reports  from  southern 
California  go  to  show  that  a  like  influence  has  been  exerted 
over  the  tribes  of  that  region.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the 
Mormons  have  cultivated  friendship  with  the  Indians,  and  it 
is  scarcely  doubtful  that,  in  the  recent  exodus  from  San  Ber 
nardino,  they  have  been  accompanied  by  Indians.  The  Indians 
in  this  section  of  the  state  are  represented  as  becoming  more 
insolent  and,  though  they  have  as  yet  committed  no  depre- 


13 


dations,  the  fears  of  the  inhabitants  are  to  a  great  degree 
excited.  From  Carson  valley  we  have  like  reports  of  the  ill 
effects  upon  the  Indians  of  Mormon  influence.  If  these  things 
are  true,  and  I  credit  them,  temporary  success  on  the  part  of 
the  Mormons  may  be  a  signal  for  an  Indian  war  extending 
along  our  whole  frontier. 

"The  troops  in  this  department  have  been  stationed  with 
such  strict  attention  to  the  absolute  wants  of  the  service,  that 
but  little  if  any  reduction  at  any  post  could  be  made  with  safe 
ty.  In  Oregon  and  Washington  territories,  east  of  the  Cascade 
range,  I  consider  it  unsafe  to  remove  a  man  for  service  else 
where.  I  recommend  instant  measures  to  detach  Indians  from 
Mormon  influence.  As  an  initial  step  toward  that  end,  I  sug 
gest  that  headmen  or  chiefs  be  invited  to  visit  Washington.  As 
an  inducement  they  should  receive  presents  to  a  generous 
extent.  Such  visits  would  disabuse  them  of  any  erroneous 
impressions  they  may  have  received  relative  to  the  power  of 
the  United  States,  by  seeing  for  themselves  how  numerous 
and  powerful  our  people  are." 

The  devotion  of  the  Indian  to  a  fellow  tribesman  or  a  war 
rior  ally  has  ever  been  recognized.  Soldiers  of  many  a  battle 
field  testify  to  the  intrepidity  of  an  Indian  brave  in  seeking  to 
remove  the  mere  corpse  of  a  slain  friend.  The  Indians  of  the 
Columbia  valley  were  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

The  government  had  laid  it  down  upon  the  officers  of  gar 
risons  that  whatever  terms  of  peace  were  made  with  the 
natives,  those  members  of  the  tribes  who  had  been  guilty  of 
murder,  had  robbed  settlers  or  had  committed  depredations 
of  any  character,  should  be  surrendered  to  the  troops  to  be 
dealt  with  according  to  the  white  man's  standards.  Such  a 
condition  struck  directly  at  the  Indian's  sense  of  fealty  and 
honor.  To  give  up  a  tribesman  living  to  the  enemy  was  in 
finitely  worse  than  leaving  his  body  where  he  had  gloriously 
triumphed  in  death,  a  warrior's  passport  to  future  happiness. 
Daring  spirits  among  the  Indians  had  committed  deeds 
which  placed  them  high  on  the  native  scroll  of  honor  and 
fame,  but  which  deeds  came  within  the  white  man's  category 
of  crimes.  Indian  Agent  Andrew  J.  Bolan  had  been  foully 
murdered  near  the  Ahtanum  not  far  from  Fort  Simcoe  and 
his  corpse  foully  and  indecently  mutilated.  Here  was  a  chal 
lenge  direct  to  the  government,  the  killing  of  its  represent 
ative  and  contemptuous  treatment  of  his  body.  Prospectors 


on  their  way  to  the  Frazer  river  and  Colville  countries  had 
been  waylaid  and  murdered.  Raids  had  been  made  upon  the 
corrals    of  settlers  and  once  government  property  was 
snatched  from  under 

The  contention  of  army  officers  was  that  the  surrender  of 
these  outlaws  shouldbe  a  condition  of  any  agreements  entered 
into  with  the  tribes,  though  they  knew  that  insistence  upon 
this  condition  might  result  in  making  impossible  any  sub 
mission  of  the  tribesmen.  Late  in  1857,  General  Clarke  in 
a  report  to  army  headquarters  mentioned  "the  uneasiness 
felt  lest  those  implicated  in  the  murder  of  Bolan,  committed 
eighteen  months  before,  should  be  sought  and  seized,  or 
retaliation  made  on  the  tribes,  notwithstanding  the  subsequent 
pacification  made." 

There  is  ample  proof  that  this  demand  of  the  whites  for  the 
outlaw  Indians  did  actually  prove  an  obstacle  when  it  came  to 
formulating  terms  of  peace.  After  the  attack  on  Steptoe  two 
priests,  commissioned  to  ascertain  the  temper  of  the  Coeur 
d'Alenes  and  Spokanes,  reported:  "Two  things  chiefly  they 
find  difficult  to  comply  with  in  the  conditions  proposed  to 
them  for  the  peace,  and  these  are:  first,  to  restore  the 
government  property;  second,  to  give  up  the  authors  of  the 
attack." 

Pohlatkin  sent  word  to  General  Clarke:  "You  are  at  lib 
erty  to  kill  me,  but  I  will  not  deliver  my  neighbors.  If  it 
should  be  my  practice,  I  would  do  according  to  it.  But  that 
is  a  practice  of  your  own.** 

"I  feel  unwilling  to  give  you  up  my  three  brothers,  " 
was  the  message  of  Coeur  d'Alene  Milkapsi. 

Spokane  Garry  replied:  "When  I  hear  what  you  say, 
there  is  one  word  which  won't  do.  You  ask  some  to  be  de 
livered  up.  Withdraw  this  one  word,  and  sure  you  will  make 
peace." 

But  diplomacy  would  have  been  unable  to  avoid  hos 
tilities,  even  had  there  been  time  for  an  extended  ex 
periment  with  it.  The  Indians  were  thoroughly  aroused, 
some  from  one  consideration,  some  from  another.  It  was 
inevitable  that  the  conflict  would  come.  The  progress  of 
civilization  could  not  be  stayed.  Colonel  Steptoe' s  march 
north  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  in  May,  1858,  merely  pre 
cipitated  hostilities  at  that  time,  for  antagonism  had  long 
been  slumbering. 


14 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


5 


Lieutenant  Mullans  Observations 


There  were  other  causes,  more  or  less  remote,  the  ab 
sence  of  which  might  have  prevented  outbreaks  of  hostilities. 
Lieutenant  John  Mullan,  who  had  been  in  contact  with  both 
the  Indian  and  with  Indian  bureau  methods  for  many  years, 
had  decided  convictions  and  expressed  them  at  a  later  day 
to  the  chief  of  the  bureau.  Though  the  letter  is  chronolog 
ically  out  of  place  at  just  this  portion  of  this  narrative,  it  is 
so  replete  with  suggestions  and  discussions  bearing  on  the 
origin  of  the  troubles  and  is  so  interesting  as  being  the  frank 
and  careful  expression  of  a  man  prominent  in  the  early  de 
velopment  of  the  Inland  Empire,  that  it  is  presented  here: 

Camp  At  The  Four  Lakes 

Spokane  Plains,  Washington  Territory 

September  5th,  1858 

My  dear  Sir: 

I  deem  it  a  duty  that  I  owe  both  you  and  myself,  in  view 
of  the  present  active  Indian  Hostilities  in  which  we  are 
now  engaged,  in  view  of  the  complicated  and  much  mis 
represented  difficulties  of  the  past,  and,  I  fear,  the  threat 
ening  disturbances  of  the  future,  to  write  you  to  put  you 
in  possession  of  views  and  facts  that  can  be  only  learned 
by  those  in  the  country;  and  I  am  sufficiently  confident  to 
believe,  from  my  former  connection  with  Indian  affairs, 
that  my  letter  will  meet  at  your  hands,  at  least,  some 
favor. 

Immediately  after  Colonel  Steptoe's  defeat,  I  wrote  you, 
giving  at  that  time  such  facts  and  views  as  were  pertinent, 
reserving  to  myself  the  privilege  of  adding  to  and  mod 
ifying  them  as  circumstances  might  determine.  There  is 
no  longer  need  to  conceal  the  truth.  We  are  in  the  midst 
of  another  Indian  War,  fraught  with  what  results  and  of 
what  duration  the  future  alone  must  tell.  How  these  dif 
ficulties  originated,  whence  they  spring,  is  a  long,  long 
story  and  requires  a  greater  length  than  my  letter  can 
give;  suffice  to  say  that  I  regard  the  present  difficulty  as 
only  another  link  in  the  same  chain  that  has  been  but  too 
often  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Indian  Department.  The 
Department  has  had  facts  reported  to  it  from  time  to  time 
by  those  passing  through  and  those  living  in  the  country 
and  I  am  far  from  believing  that  either  the  Indian  Com 
missioner  or  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  paid  a  deaf 
ear  to  those  representations;  but,  on  the  contrary,  must 
and  do  believe  that  each  in  his  sphere  has  done  his  duty, 
and  the  onus  of  the  responsibility  must  rest  with  Congress. 

The  time  no  longer  exists  when  passiveness  is  to  be 


the  rule  of  action  in  this  region.  Special  cases  require 
special  remedies,  and  an  old,  effete,  worn  out  system  is 
no  longer  applicable  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  this  quarter. 

The  wave  of  civilization  from  the  east  in  times  past 
drove  the  Indians  westwards  before  it;  but  in  ten  years 
how  changed!  That  wave  is  now  moving  with  an  equal  if 
not  increasing  rapidity  eastward  from  the  Pacific.  While 
in  the  south,  the  Indian  no  longer  reposes  in  his  once  quiet 
home,  but  driven  in  all  directions,  it  is  in  this  region  alone 
that  we  must  and  shall  hereafter  have  our  great  Indian 
conflicts.  The  population  hitherto  pent  up  westward  of  the 
Cascade  mountains  bar  rie  r  has  broken  loose  through  a  new 
golden  gate,  and  now  begins  to  swarm  a  hitherto  deserted 
region.  The  English  and  the  American  governments  by 
their  commissioner,  in  marking  the  line  of  boundary  for 
each  along  the  48th  parallel,  are  fast  developing  a  region 
in  which  not  one  people,  but  two  great  nations  are  now 
feeling  an  interest;  and  the  difficulties  in  our  interior 
along  the  Salt  Lake  road,  which  have  for  the  last  three 
years  completely  blockaded  our  emigrant  road,  and  put 
far  assunder  the  two  extremes  of  our  country,  are  being 
fast  ameliorated,  and  soon  must  an  emigration  of  three 
years  growth  rush  into  this  region,  offering  them  now  so 
many  golden  inducements. 

Can  we,  then,  I  say,  in  view  of  these  things,  longer  rest 
inactive,  and  allow  fires  to  spread  in  immense  magazines 
ready  for  the  burning? 

For  the  last  three  years,  the  cry  from  this  coast  has 
been,  "Indian  wars!  Indian  wars!  Give  us  a  remedy  for 
our  disease.  Give  us  protection  ample  to  our  purpose.  So 
arrange  affairs  with  our  Indians  that  our  peaceful  frontier 
settlements  shall  no  longer  be  open  preys  to  insensate 
savages!" 

But  all  their  cries  a  deaf  ear  has  been  turned;  and  I  am 
in  a  measure  not  surprised,  because  at  that  time  our 
highest  militaty  authority,  General  Wool,  proclaimed  pub 
licly  that  no  war  existed,  when  at  the  same  moment  vil 
lages  were  being  burned  and  razed  to  the  ground;  men, 
women  and  children  butchered,  and  desolation  was  over 
spreading  the  land.  For  facts,  look  to  southern  Oregon; 
look  on  Puget's  Sound  and  look  in  our  interior,  and  they 
come  up  in  volumes.  All  I  can  say  is,  I  sincerely  trust  that 
those  who  have  proclaimed  these  things  may  only  have 
committed  errors  of  judgment.  Let  them  proclain  the  whys 
and  wherefores,  if  they  exist,  I  know,  in  giving  expression 
to"  such  views  and  sentiments,  that  I  censure  harshly  a  man 


15 


high  in  position,  but  the  vindication  of  truth  compels  me  to 
the  position.  Are  we  then  to  have  re-enacted  scenes  with 
which  1855  and  1856  were  so  replete?  Scenes  that  cost 
valuable  lives  and  a  debt  of  unpaid  millions.  By  some  the 
people  were  charged  with  bringing  on  the  last  war;  by 
others  treaties  made  with  the  Indians  were  the  cause.  But 
here  will  these  same  persons  find  causes  now  sufficient 
to  justify  such  views? 

Here  is  a  case  solely  of  a  United  States  force  moving 
through  a  region  of  country  inhavi ted  by  Indians  with  whom 
no  definite  or  specific  treaty  was  made,  moving  under  an 
officer  high  in  rank,  high  in  reputation,  on  a  specific 
expedition,  and  most  unprovokedly  and  savagely  attacked. 
How,  I  ask  again,  will  those  having  views  above  mentioned 
justify  now  their  position?  No,  the  disease  lies  still 
deeper,  and  unless  we  strike  the  root  we  shall  never  be 
enabled  to  cure  the  malady.  The  seeds  for  a  more  serious 
war  are  being  sown,  which  only  the  strong  arm  of  the  War 
Department  must  finally  put  down. 

These  are  but  two  alternatives  left  to  us  in  this  region. 
The  past  confirms  it,  and  the  present  still  further 
strengthens  it.  The  one  is  a  well  adjusted  peace  policy, 
carried  out  by  men  alive  and  equal  to  their  duties,  honest 
to  the  Indian  and  the  department,  and  who  fill  positions 
neither  for  positions'  nor  gain's  sake;  the  other  is  the 
force  of  arms,  wisely  but  vigorously  applied.  The  Indian 
is  a  creature  of  timidity  on  the  one  hand,  and  cupidity  on 
the  other;  and  when  these  two  elements  of  his  nature  are 
ignored,  the  Indian  character  is  not  known.  We  must  there 
fore  cater  to  and  cater  for  each.  Suchbeing  the  case,  the 
only  manner  in  which  difficulties  can  arise  will  be  the 
manner  of  the  administration  of  each.  How  these  are  man 
aged,  I  leave  for  the  history  of  the  past  to  reply.  It  is  not 
my  province  either  to  set  myself  up  as  a  general  critic  or 
put  myself  in  a  position  where  truth,  left  too  naked,  might 
cause  many  high  in  position  to  blush  for  errors  of  judg 
ment  and  errors  of  action.  I  would  prefer  to  leave  the  past, 
both  as  enacted  by  our  military  and  civil  authorities,  to 
oblivion,  save  as  showing  the  wherefore  of  some  of  our 
Indian  troubles  in  this  quarter. 

The  Indian  history  of  this  region  is  different  from  that 
of  any  in  any  other  quarter  of  our  country.  The  country 
was  thrown  openfor  settlementbefore  any  preparation  was 
made  for  their  reception— before  the  Indian  title  was  ex 
tinguished;  and  hence  alone,  in  my  judgment,  the  cause  for 
most  of  our  Indian  troubles  in  this  region.  I  am  not  forget 
ful,  of  course,  of  the  great  natural  cause — the  contact  of 
the  red  and  the  white  man— that  out  history  for  two  cen 
turies  past  proclaims  to  be  the  great  radical  cause  of 
our  Indian  warfares. 

But  in  this  region,  to  this  great  first  cause,  is  super- 
added  causes  that  in  themselves  alone  have  been  sufficient 
to  light  in  one  lurid  flame  of  war  our  whole  Pacific  slope, 
that  might  have  long  since  exterminated  its  whole  white 
population. 

Those  seeing  these  things  at  a  still  later  day,  and  being 
in  position  to  avert  them  by  a  wise,  discreet  policy  for 
ourselves,  and  a  just  one  for  the  Indian,  set  to  work,  and 
from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pacific  coast  labored 
hard  and  long  in  the  field  and  office,  traveling  through 
every  Indian  tribe,  learning  their  history,  wants,  and  with 


the  authoritative  voice  of  the  government,  made  three 
years  ago  treaties  with  these  northwestern  Indians;  and  to 
this  day  the  labors  of  Governor  Stevens  are  disregarded 
and  uncared  for,  and  the  treaties  containing  the  solemn 
promises  of  the  Indian  on  the  one  side  and  the  binding 
obligations  of  the  white  man  on  the  other  lies  among  the 
dusty  archives  of  Congress,  while  a  war  rages  in  every 
quarter  of  the  northwest  coast. 

The  Indians  feel  that  their  rights  have  been  trifled  with 
by  promises,  made  by  agents  armed  and  vested  with 
authority  to  act,  which  the  government  has  not  ratified. 
And  will  it,  I  ask,  longer  remain  in  this  passive  mood? 
Will  it  longer  act  inertly  while  lives  are  sacrificed  and 
millions  squandered,  and  still  longer  hesitate  to  act? 
For  one,  I  trust  not,  let  these  be  ratified;  let  the  country 
be  thrown  open  to  our  people;  let  the  Indians  have  sent 
among  them  good,  honest,  upright  agents;  let  schoolhouses 
and  churches  be  erected,  fields  enclosed,  farming  utensils 
and  the  implements  and  seeds  of  civilizationbe  introduced, 
and  I  boldly  predict  that  ere  many  years  have  passed  away, 
instead  of  finding  one  vast  field  of  desolation,  we  shall  be 
proud  to  point  from  this  standpoint,  where  an  ever-to-be 
remembered  battle  has  been  fought,  to  many  green  fields 
to  the  north  and  south,  east  and  west. 

Like  an  immense  monster  of  desolation  to  these  Indians, 
the  waves  of  civilization  are  fast  approaching  them,  and 
ere  long,  unless  prompt  and  speedy  measures  be  taken 
for  their  security  and  safety,  must  engulf  and  destroy 
them.  Who,  then,  is  to  raise  the  averting  arms? 

Since  men  from  afar  are  sent  to  this  region  to  study 
and  find  out  what  I  see  around  me  daily  and  momentarily, 
I  trust  what  is  given  with  but  little  labor  and  without  price 
will  meet  with  favor,  especially  as  there  are  officers 
high  in  position  here  who  endorse  my  views.  In  the  above 
I  refer  to  the  mission  of  Mr.  Mott  to  this  quarter.  I  have 
learned  the  object  of  his  mission,  and  wish  it  well;  and  I 
can  but  hope,  and  am  led  to  believe,  that  Mr.  Mott  must  be 
a  man  whose  past  history  has  been  such  as  to  bring  him 
sufficiently  close  to  Indian  tribes  to  know  full  well  Indian 
character.  To  know  the  Indian,  you  must  be  with  him,  to 
know  his  worth  it  must  be  tested;  to  know  his  treachery  it 
must  be  felt.  Remember  the  war  that  now  exists  has  its 
seat  and  its  focus  at  the  point  whence  I  new  write  you.  It 
is  not  my  province  to  give  you  the  details  of  a  battle  of 
which  this  point  has  been  the  scene,  fought  by  Colonel 
Wright  against  three  or  four  hundred  Indians;  for  these 
you  will  doubtless  get  from  the  journals  of  the  day  with  as 
much  correctness  as  I  might  give  them.  Suffice  it  for  me 
to  say  that  he  has  fought  a  memorable,  never  to  be  for 
gotten  fight;  since  he  killed,  discomfitted  and  drove  in 
dismay  the  enemy  from  the  field  without  sustaining  a 
single  loss  to  his  command.  He  marches  from  this  point 
tomorrow,  armed  with  a  determination  to  carry  the  war 
boldly  and  vigorously  into  the  enemy's  country;  and  though 
the  campaign  in  which  we  are  now  engaged  may  not  be 
completed  this  season,  still  I  believe  a  blow  has  been 
struck  which  foreshadows  the  views  and  determination 
of  the  Department  of  War.  It  is  now  for  Congress  to  say, 
and  to  say  soon,  what  course  shall  be  pursued  to  establish 
a  permanent  peace  with  the  Indian  tribes.  A  temporizing 
peace  policy  has  signally  failed,  and  now  the  inaction  of 


16 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


of  Congress  and  dire  necessity  compels  us  to  drive,  with 
powder  and  ball,  our  enemy  before  us. 

But  allow  me,  my  dear  sir,  while  this  general  war  is 
going  on,  to  point  you  to  at  least  a  few  green  spots  where 
the  ravages  of  war  do  not  as  yet  extend,  and  which  thus 
far  are  untainted  and  unaffected,  with  a  view  of  so  retain 
ing  them  that  we  may  hereafter  point  to  them  as  oasis  in 
this  desert  of  war.  These  green  spots  are  the  Nez  Perces, 
the  Flatheads  and  Pend  d'Oreilles;  and  in  this  connection 
I  refer  to  an  act  of  Colonel  Wright  which  embodies  views 
and  motives  which,  endorsed  and  carried  out  by  the  gov 
ernment,  must  redound  to  his  credit  and  praise,  and  be 
the  means  of  building  up,  at  no  distant  day,  a  bold,  brave, 
warlike  and  numerous  people. 


Captain  John  Mullan 

Before  leaving  Fort  Walla  Walla,  with  a  view  to  re 
taining  the  friendship  of  a  powerful  tribe  and  preventing  a 
general  coalition  and  combination  of  tribes,  and  a  fire  in 
our  rear,  which  if  once  commenced,  must  end  in  our  total 
destruction,  Colonel  Wright  assembled  the  Nez  Perces 
people,  and  told  them  his  object  was  to  war  with  and 
punish  our  enemies,  but  as  this  great  people  were  and  ever 
had  been  our  friends  that  we  wanted  their  friendship  to  be 
as  enduring  as  the  mountains  around  which  they  lived;  and 
in  order  that  no  difference  of  views  or  difficulty  might 
arise  that  their  promises  should  be  mutually  recorded,  and 
with  this  view,  he  made  a  treaty  of  friendship  alone,  and 
thirty  bold  warriors,  marshalling  themselves  under  brave 
war  chiefs,  were  placed  at  his  disposal  to  assist  him  in 
finding  and  fighting  the  enemy. 

This  is  the  same  people  who,  meeting  the  flying  columns 
of  Colonel  Steptoe  in  hot  night  retreat,  having  abandoned 
animals,  provisions  and  guns  behind  them,  received  him 
with  open  arms,  succored  his  wounded  men,  and  crossed 
in  safety  his  whole  command  over  the  dangerous  south 


fork  of  the  Columbia,  at  a  time  when  no  other  means  what 
ever  to  outreach  a  foe,  who,  already  triumphant  with 
success,  had  determined  his  complete  destruction.  Col 
onel  Wright,  on  entering  their  country,  was  not  unmindful 
of  this  noble  act,  when,  we  might— aye,  justly  too— have 
anticipated  a  lurking  foe  in  that  same  tribe,  and  he  took 
such  measures  as  to  keep  their  friendship.  It  is  now  for 
you  to  say  whether  this  shall  be  inviolable. 

They  have  no  agent  who  lives  among  them.  They  are 
far  advanced  in  civilization  already,  much  further  than  any 
tribe  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  except  the  Flatheads. 
They  are  inclined  to  agriculture;  already  raise  wheat, 
corn  and  vegetables,  with  the  rudest  of  means.  When  asked 
by  Colonel  Wright  what  they  wanted,  their  reply  was  well 
worthy  of  noble  race:  Peace,  ploughs  and  schools. 

And  will  you,  can  you,  longer  refuse  them  these?  I  ask 
therefore,  to  commend  these  noble  people.  I  ask  that  a 
special  appropriation  be  made  to  give  these  people 
schools,  farms  and  seeds;  that  means  be  taken  to  build 
them  up  in  their  mountain  homes  that  we  may  be  enabled  to 
point  with  joyous  pride  to  a  first  few  tutored  savages  in 
the  Rocky  mountains,  reclaimed  from  their  wild,  nomadic 
habits;  and  while  asking,  aye,  petitioning,  for  these,  I 
cannot  forget  my  old  mountain  friends  the  Flatheads  and 
Pend  d'Oreilles.  As  yet,  they  are  both  friendly,  and  I  ask 
that  you  retain  their  friendship.  I  made  both  to  Governor 
Stevens  and  yourself,  four  years  ago,  petitions  in  their 
favor,  but  alas!  they  passed  unheeded.  I  again  renew  them, 
and  ask  that  steps,  prompt  and  efficient,  be  taken  that  will 
avert  from  these  noble  bands  the  devastating  arm  of  war. 

I  ask  not  that  my  version  be  taken  alone,  but  simply  ask 
that  it  go  to  form  part  and  parcel  of  versions  given  by 
abler  pens,  and  men  who  saw  but  to  reflect  upon  the  past 
and  future  destiny  of  the  Indians.  I  point  you,  commencing 
with  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1804,  to  the  present  day,  to  the 
accounts  of  travellers  across  the  continent;  and  with  one 
accord  they  point  to  the  Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads  as  two 
bright,  shining  points  in  a  long  and  weary  pilgrimage 
across  a  prairie  desert  and  rugged  mountain  barrier, 
alive  with  savage  hordes  of  Indians,  where  they  have  been 
relieved  and  aided  when  most  in  need;  and  instances 
sufficiently  numerous  to  swell  a  volume  exist  that  render 
it  needless  for  me  here  to  refer  to  them.  My  duties  and 
labors  have  brought  me  often  and  long  in  contact  with 
them,  and  I  instance  now  not  views  or  judgments  but  facts 
that  should  speak  loud  enough  to  reach  the  ears  of  our 
government  at  Washington  in  thundering  tones  and  arouse 
them  to  a  course  of  bold,  energetic,  praiseworthy  action 
that  will  speedily  and  radically  remedy  a  disease  that  is 
fast  devouring  a  people  once  numerous  on  our  western 
slopes. 

A  state  of  things  so  entirely  different  from  anything 
east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  exists  in  this  region  that  an 
attempt  to  describe  it  ends  in  futility.  Far  distant  points 
to  be  reached;  long  lines  of  transportation;  only  one  super 
intendent  in  regions  requiring  at  least  one  whole  year  to 
visit.  And  where  are  his  headquarters?  In  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Willamette  valley;  in  a  quiet  peaceful, 
civilized  spot  where  Indians  are  not  and  war  wages  not, 
while  hundreds  of  miles  and  thousands  of  Indians  are  left 
unvisited  and  unseen. 


17 


> 


Has  the  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  ever  seen  the 
Indians  against  whom  he  is  moving?  No!  Not  one.  He  can 
not.  Could  he  accomplish  impossibilities,  it  would  have 
been  done,  doubtless.  I  say  this:  Have  these  Indians  an 
agent?  On  the  one  hand  we  have  a  territory  thundering  at 
the  doors  of  Congress,  demanding  as  her  right  her  ad 
mittance  to  an  equality  with  the  states  of  the  Union; 
while  on  the  other,  Indian  wars  are  raging,  Indian  titles 
unextinguished,  and  no  preparation  made  for  a  position 
for  her  people. 


It  is  not  my  province  or  my  desire  to  point  out  any 
course  to  be  followed  for  fear  of  laying  open  both  to 
criticism  and  censure.  But  I  boldly  and  fearlessly  and 
honestly  say  that  one  superintendent,  with  his  headquar 
ters  at  Salem,  in  Oregon,  is  not  equal  to  the  task  of  per 
forming  the  responsible  duties  of  superintendent  for  so 
many  thousands  of  Indians.  If  one  man  could  perform 
the  labors  that  would  keep  three  men  most  actively  and 
daily  engaged,  then  he  could  do  it;  but  at  the  present  not. 

But,  my  dear  sir,  I  will  not  tax  you  further,  though  I 
could  and  might  say  much  more.  I  most  sincerely  trust 
that  the  Secretary  of  War  may  so  regard  my  work  and 
movements  as  to  enable  me  to  visit  Washington  this  com 
ing  winter;  and  if  such  should  be  the  case,  we  can  then 
give  expression  to  such  views  as  circumstances  now  so 
full  of  meaning  may  that  time  develop;  but  feeling,  as 
I  do,  an  interest  in  the  future  of  tribes  concerning  whom 
I  have  been  able  to  learn  much,  I  could  not  remain  silent 
when  by  speaking,  good  might  result. 

Hoping  to  meet  you  the  coming  winter,  I  am,  dear  sir, 
your  friend, 

John  Mullan 
Charles  E.  Mix  E  p., 
Acting  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Washington,  B.C. 


18 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


• 

Q    •    The  Steptoe  Expedition 


It  is  impossible  at  this  date  to  formulate  from  the  records 
and  authorities  at  hand  just  what  Lieutenant  Colonel  Step- 
toe  expected  to  accomplish  by  his  march  north  into  the  coun 
try  of  the  hostile  Indians.  In  fact,  Steptoe  himself  at  different 
times  gave  different  actuating  motives.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  his  purposes  were  not  clear  to  himself.  It  is  be 
cause  of  this  haziness  that  the  soldierly  qualities  of  Steptoe 
have  been  variously  estimated. 

Colonel  Steptoe  was  fully  acquainted  with  the  policy  of 
placation  of  the  tribes  pursued  by  the  war  department  and 
by  General  Wool  as  worked  out  in  the  Yakima  campaign  of 
1856,  when  Colonel  Wright  accomplished  the  "pacification 
of  the  Yakima  valley."  Yet  it  it  to  be  supposed  that  his  su 
perior  officers  left  much  in  the  way  of  detail  of  dealings 
with  the  confronting  situation  with  the  officer  in  the  field, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  commanding  officer  of  garrison 
located  nearest  to  the  expected  scene  of  hostilities. 

The  seriousness  of  the  situation  and  the  prevailing  dis 
position  to  regard  trouble  as  imminent  is  discernible  through 
out  the  official  correspondence  which  passed  to  and  from 
the  headquarters  of  General  Clarke,  who  had  succeeded 
General  Wool  in  charge  of  the  department  of  the  Pacific. 
Early  in  January,  when  Fort  Walla  Walla  was  garrisoned 
only  by  infantry,  General  Clarke  ordered  Lieutenant  Gregg 


Colonel  Edward  J.  Steptoe 


and  a  detachment  of  the  First  Dragoons  to  augment  Step- 
toe's  force,  and  in  the  dispatch  acquainting  Steptoe  of  this 
accession  of  force,  Adjutant  General  Mackall  informed 
Steptoe  that  "the  general  wishes  you  to  be  prepared  in  ad 
vance,"  and  requested  "full  and  prompt  report  of  all  infor 
mation,  and  your  opinion  founded  thereon  is  desired." 

To  this  Steptoe  replied:  "Measures  were  taken  at  once 
to  ensure  the  full  efficiency  of  this  command,  whenever  it 
may  be  required  for  active  service."  Giving  his  opinion 
touching  the  outlook  for  an  actual  clash,  he  wrote:  "Re 
specting  the  northern  Indians  (Palouse,  Yakima  and  Spokane) 
there  has  never  been  a  doubt  in  my  mind  that  very  slight 
encouragement  would  at  any  time  suffice  to  revive  their 
late  hostile  feeling." 

Steptoe's  understanding  of  the  conditions  is  set  forth  in 
the  following  two  letters,  written  at  an  interval  of  only  two 
weeks: 


Fort  Walla  Walla 
April  17,  1858 

Sirs:  There  appears  to  be  so  much  excitement  amongst 
the  Palouse  and  Spokane  Indians  as  to  make  an  expedition 
to  the  north  advisable,  if  not  necessary;  I  shall  accord 
ingly  start  with  three  companies  of  dragoons  in  that  di 
rection  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  arrival  of  Brevet 
Captain  Taylor. 

Some  forty  persons  living  at  Colville  recently  petitioned 
for  the  presence  of  troops  at  that  place,  as  they  believed 
their  lives  and  property  to  be  in  danger  from  hostile 
Indians.  I  cannot  tell  at  this  distance  whether  they  are 
needlessly  alarmed,  but  I  shall  visit  Colville  before  re 
turning. 

Two  white  men  are  reported  to  have  been  killed  re 
cently  near  Palouse  river  on  their  way  to  Colville.  An 
Indian  gave  me  today  the  names  of  the  Palouse  Indians 
said  to  be  implicated.  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  rumor 
is  correct,  but  will  investigate  the  matter  during  my 
return  trip. 

Afew  nights  ago  a  party  of  the  same  tribe  made  a  foray 
into  this  valley  and  carried  off  horses  and  cattle  belonging 
to  various  persons,  including  both  whites  and  Indians, 
and  thirteen  head  of  beef  cattle,  the  property  of  the  com 
missary  department.  It  is  my  impression  that  they  did 
not  suppose  these  animals  to  be  in  our  charge  or  they 
would  not  probably  have  taken  them.  However,  it  is  very 


19 


necessary  to  check  this  thieving,  or  of  course  worse 
trouble  will  grow  out. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant,  E.J.  Steptoe 


any  other  Indians  on  the  march."  Adjutant  Kip,  who  par 
ticipated  in  the  Wright  expedition  in  the  following  summer, 
understood  that  Steptoe  was  "to  make  a  reconnaissance  of 
the  country." 


Fort  Walla  Walla,  W.T. 
May  2,  1858 

Major  W.W.  Mackall,  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  U.S.A. 
San  Francisco 

Major:  Brevet  Captain  Taylor  has  arrived  with  the  dra 
goons  horses,  all  in  fine  condition.  I  have  delayed  pro 
ceeding  to  the  north  until  some  more  definite  information 
could  be  obtained  of  the  state  of  things  at  that  place. 
Whether  the  two  white  men  were  really  killed,  as  was 
reported  at  the  date  of  my  last  letter,  I  have  not  however, 
been  able  to  ascertain,  but  the  most  reliable  Indian  chiefs 
seem  to  believe  so.  It  is  my  intention  to  leave  here  some 
day  this  seek,  probable  on  Thursday,  with  about  130  dra 
goons  and  a  detachment  of  infantry  for  service  with  the 
howitzers,  and  to  move  directly  where  it  is  understood 
the  hostile  party  is  at  present. 

Lieutenant  Harvie,  who  is  at  the  Dalles  to  receive  and 
bring  up  about  250  head  of  beef  cattle,  will  be  on  his  re 
turn  in  a  few  days.  He  has  fifteen  dragoons  for  an  escort, 
but  in  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country,  I  fear  the  temp 
tation  to  get  possession  of  the  cattle  might  be  too  strong 
for  the  Indians  and  accordingly  have  written  to  Colonel 
Wright  asking  him  to  add  a  few  men  to  the  escort. 

It  is  proper  for  me  to  say  that  there  appears  to  be 
some  probability  of  considerable  disturbance  among  the 
neighboring  tribes,  but  I  hope  to  check  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant 
E.J.  Steptoe, 

Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel,  U.S.A. 
(Commanding  Post) 

It  is  perfectly  plain  that  Steptoe  had  marked  out  for  him 
self  and  his  projected  expedition  the  work  of  allaying  the 
fears  of  the  people  at  Colville,  checking  the  thievery  of  In 
dians,  investigating  the  reported  murders  and  travelling 
directly  to  a  point  where  were  rendezvoused  natives  whom 
he  characterized  as  a  "hostile  party."  It  is  a  natural  con 
clusion  to  draw  from  those  letters  that  Steptoe  anticipated 
a  meeting  which  would  not  be  bloodless,  in  which  there 
would  be  use  for  bullets  and  for  dragoon  sabers.  Further, 
when  he  actually  took  the  field,  a  part  of  his  column  was 
composed  of  a  detachment  of  infantrymen  detailed  to  man 
two  mountain  howitzers.  These  were  preparptions  for  fight 
ing. 

When  actually  in  the  presence  of  the  attacking  party,  Step- 
toe  told  the  Indians  that  he  had  no  hostile  intentions  and  was 
on  his  way  to  Colville  to  endeavor  to  strengthen  the  good 
feeling  existing  between  the  natives  andthewhites.lt  is  pro 
bable  that  this  statement  of  the  commanding  officer  was  one 
of  diplomatic  subterfuge  or  conciliation.  Lieutenant  Gregg, 
writing  a  letter  after  his  return  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  said, 
"No  one  thought  of  having  an  encounter  with  them  or  with 


Colonel  Lawrence  Kip 

There  seems  to  be  reason  for  the  belief  that  Steptoe  con 
sidered  that  a  "demonstration"  was  all  that  was  necessary 
to  awe  the  Indians  into  passiveness.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his 
equipment,  aside  from  the  howitzers,  was  not  formidable  for 
fighting.  Major  Joel  G.  Trimble,  of  Berkeley,  California,  an 
enlisted  man  of  the  expedition,  says: 

"The  equipment  was  poor.  One  company  was  armed  with 
Mississippi  Yager  riftes,  which  carried  one  ball  and  three 
buckshot.  These  guns  we  re  of  no  use  at  more  than  fifty  yards. 
The  men  also  had  old-fashioned,  single-barrel,  muzzle-load 
ing  pistols,  decidedly  inferior  to  those  of  the  Indians." 

Nowhere  does  the  record  indicate  that  the  men  carried 
sabers,  the  natural  arm  of  the  cavalryman  of  the  period. 
Officers  of  the  Wright  expedition,  which  was  composed  in 
part  of  companies  of  the  Steptoe  command,  made  the  state 
ment  that  no  sabers  were  supplied  to  the  men  when  the 
command  left  Fort  Walla  Walla.  Steptoe  knew  that  the  most 
common  firearm  to  be  found  amont  the  Palouse  and  Spokane 
Indians  was  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  musket,  obtained  in 
trade  at  the  post  on  the  upper  Columbia  known  as  Fort 
Colville,  and  he  knew  that  it  was  a  more  formidable  weapon 
than  his  own  musquetoons,  Yager  rifles  or  ancient  pistols. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  these  contradictory  considerations 
may  have  arisen  through  the  belief  in  Steptoe'smind  that  he 
was  not  going  to  encounter  any  fighting  but  desired  to  impress 
upon  his  superior  officers  the  idea  that  in  his  lone  frontier 
outpost,  he  was  in  serious  danger.  At  any  rate  his  reports  to 
headquarters  do  not  fail  to  mention  prospective  fighting;  his 
actual  preparation  was  not  adequate,  and  he  must  have  known 
that  it  was  not. 

Steptoe's  defeat  had  a  very  depressing  effect  upon  army 
circles.  This  was  especially  felt  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  it 
reached  even  to  West  Point,  where  the  cadets  were  not  averse 
to  charging  Steptoe  with  responsibility  for  thedeathof  Lieu 
tenant  Gaston,  who  had  many  friends  amont  the  under 
graduates.  Some  detractors  have  gone  so  far  as  to  impute  to 
Steptoe  a  vaccination  in  his  fealty  to  the  army  because  of  his 
sympathy  with  the  South.  It  has  been  said  that  Steptoe  became 


20 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


Lieutenant  William  Gaston 

an  officer  in  the  Confederate  army.  It  has  also  been  said  that 
he  was  saved  from  courtmartial  and  disgrace  only  through 
the  intervention  of  his  fellow  Virginian,  General  Winfield 
Scott,  then  the  head  of  the  army. 

So  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  learn,  Colonel  Step  toe  did 
not  join  the  Confederates.  He  resigned  from  the  federal  army, 
as  did  many  another  gallant  officer,  early  in  1861,  but  while 
the  records  state  explicitly  in  the  case  of  others  the  fact  of 
their  accepting  commissions  under  the  Stars  and  Bars,  such 
reference  is  entirely  lacking  with  reference  to  Steptoe.  The 
lack  of  ammunition,  frankly  confessed  by  Steptoe  in  his  offi 
cial  report  of  his  disaster,  has  been  a  matter  of  comment  on 
the  part  of  his  critics.  But  his  chief  packmaster,  Thomas 
Beall,  has  acknowledged  himself  responsible,  in  that  he 
neglected  to  take  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  two  boxes  of  cart 
ridges  of  1,000  rounds  each.  Of  Steptoe's  personal  bravery, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  title  by  which  he  is  most  com 
monly  known  grew  out  of  a  brevet  lieutenant  colonelcy  earned 
in  the  storming  of  Chapultepec,  while  it  was  "for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduc  tin  the  battle  of  CerroGordo"  that  he  was 
brevetted  major. 

As  to  Steptoe's  life  after  resigning  from  the  army,  the 
following  from  General  T.F.  Rodenbough,  secretary  of  the 
Military  Service  Institution  of  the  United  States  and  editor 
of  its  Journal,  is  as  near  an  official  declaration  as  may  be 
found: 

"With  reference  to  Steptoe's  connection  with  the  Confeder 
ate  service,  I  learn  that  it  is  very  improbable  that  he  ever 
held  a  commission  there  He  resided  for  many  years  after 
he  left  our  army  in  Virginia,  next  door  to  the  home  of  Lieut. 
Colonel  O.D.  Mitcham,  Ordinance  Department,  who  as  aboy 
frequently  talked  with  Colonel  Steptoe,  at  that  time  a  parp- 
lytic;  of  course,  Steptoe  might  have  had  some  nominal  po 
sition  in  the  Confederate  army,  but  I  very  much  doubt  it." 

Colonel  Steptoe  died  on  April  1st,  1865,  only  a  few  days 
before  the  Confederacy  expired  at  Appomattox.  Obloquy  has 
ever  been  the  reward  of  anunsuccessful  military  commander. 
Steptoe  had  his  share  of  it  while  living.  A  charitable  view  is 
that  taken  by  General  George  B.  Dandy,  retired,  in  1858  a 


young  lieutenant  of  artillery  in  the  Wright  expedition,  the 
leader  of  the  100th  New  York  infantry  in  that  decimating 
charge  through  the  trenches  and  Fort  Wagner  and  later  a 
brigade  commander  in  the  Civil  war.  Writes  General  Dandy: 
"It  should  be  remembered  that  until  the  northwestern  In 
dians  were  thoroughly  aroused  by  the  Mullan  survey  through 
their  territory,  those  between  Walla  Walla  and  Colville  had 
appeared  to  be  peaceably  inclined,  and  Steptoe  had  faith  in 
their  friendship  for  him  and  for  the  settlers,  He  appears 
not  to  have  fully  understood  the  treachery  of  the  Indian  char 
acter.  He  was  an  honorable  man  himself,  and  slow  to  suspect 
duplicity  in  others.  The  Indians  can  be  very  secret  in  their 
conspiracies.  If  he  had  studied  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac  he 
might  have  been  more  wary." 

There  are  four  distinct  and  authoritative  descriptions  of 
the  Steptoe  affair,  arising  from  as  many  different  sources. 
One  is  Steptoe's  official  report.  Another  is  contained  in  a 
private  letter  written  by  one  of  Steptoe's  officers  after  the 
return  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  A  third  was  written  for  the  com 
manding  officer  of  the  department  of  the  Pacific  by  a  spec 
tator. 

No  record  has  been  left  of  the  route  pursued  by  the  Step- 
toe  column  after  leaving  its  post,  and  it  is  impossible  at  this 
time  to  trace  the  exact  route  taken.  The  troops  accepted  the 
names  of  places  and  landscape  features  just  as  they  came 
from  the  lips  of  the  Indians.  Some  of  these  names  have  been 
preserved  by  the  settlers  and  some  have  not.  Not  always  did 
the  gutturals  of  the  native  lip  appear  the  same  to  different 
whites.  The  result  was  that  spelling  of  nomenclatures  varies 
widely.  It  is  not  known  conclusively  at  what  point  the  Snake 
River  was  crossed.  The  frequent  recurrence  of  the  phrase, 
"at  the  crossing  of  the  Snake,"  in  the  communications  of  the 
time,  leads  to  the  consclusion  that  it  was  the  one  commonly 
used.  This  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tucanon,  near  the  pre 
sent  town  of  Riparia.  It  was  here  that  the  Wright  Expedition 
crossed.  It  was  here  that  the  Indians  kept  canoes.  It  was  here 
that  the  old  trail  leading  to  Colville  crossed. 


Chief  Timothy 


THE  STEPTOE  EXPEDITION 


21 


The  manner  of  crossing  was  characteristic  of  those  pio 
neer  times.  The  Indians  who  accompanied  the  expedition 
under  Chief  Timothy,  head  of  the  guides,  manned  the  canoes 
in  which  were  carried  over  the  men  and  the  supplies.  Others 
divested  themselves  of  their  clothing  and  swam  with  the 
horses  over  the  stream.  "It  was  an  interesting  sight,"  wrote 
one  of  the  party.  "They  seemed  perfectly  at  home  in  the 
water,  and  their  dark  bodies,  glistening  like  copper,  would 
glide  gracefully  among  the  horses." 

It  has  not  been  an  easy  matter  to  locate  the  scene  of  the 
last  stand  made  by  Steptoe's  column.  Even  survivors  of  the 
expedition  made  their  declaration  only  after  hours  of  consul 
tation  and  exchange  of  eminiscence.  It  was  vastly  easier  for 
the  farmer  to  learn  the  route  over  which  the  retreat  was 


conducted  to  the  point  where  ammunition  gave  out.  The  plow 
share  told  this  story  by  turning  into  the  light  here  a  buckle 
or  a  button,  there  a  howitzer  ball  or  revolver.  But  to  the  aged 
man  who  had  not  visited  the  scene  since  the  time  he  was  en 
gaged  in  conflict,  there  seemed  little  in  commonbetween  the 
landscape  studded  with  farm  houses,  denuded  of  its  sage 
brush  and  its  soil  producing  orchards  and  the  crops  of 
modern  husbandry.  The  entire  village  of  Rosalia  is  today  a 
feature  of  the  landscape.  Two  steam  railroads  and  an  electric 
trolley  line  traverse  the  view.  On  a  June  morning  in  1907,  a 
trio  of  white  haired  men,  survivors  of  the  expedition,  invited 
to  point  out  if  possible  the  exact  spot  of  the  last  stand  of  the 
column,  waded  knee  deep  through  green  blades  of  growing 
grain  to  plant  their  flag  in  J.  G.  Hardesty's  wheat  field. 


22 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


7 


Te-Hoto-Nim-Me 


One  does  not  expect  to  find  in  a  report  made  "through  the 
military  channels"  any  of  the  vivid  word  paintings,  with  a 
wealth  of  personal  incidents,  made  familiar  to  the  American 
reading  public  by  a  long  line  of  special  war  correspondents. 
Colonel  Steptoe's  plain,  matter  of  fact  account  of  what 
happened  during  his  absence  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  is  as 
follows: 

Major:  On  the  2nd  instant  I  informed  you  of  my  intention 
to  move  northward  with  a  part  of  my  command.  Accord 
ingly  on  the  6th  I  left  here  with  companies  C.  E.  and  H. 
1st  dragoons,  and  E,  9th  infantry;  in  all  five  companies 
officers  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  enlisted  men. 
Hearing  that  the  hostile  Pelouses  were  near  Al-pon-  on- 
we,  in  the  Nez  Perces  land,  I  moved  to  that  point  and  was 
ferried  across  the  Snake  river  by  Timothy,  a  Nez  Perce 
chief.  The  enemy  fled  toward  the  north,  and  I  followed 
leisurely  on  the  road  to  Colville. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  16th,  when  near  the  To-hoto- 
min-me,  in  the  Spokane  country,  we  found  ourselves  sud 
denly  in  the  presence  of  ten  or  twelve  hundred  Indians  of 
various  tribes — Spokanes,  Pelouses,  Coeur  d'Alenes, 
Yakimas  and  some  others— all  armed,  painted  and  defiant. 
I  moved  slowly  on  until  just  about  to  enter  a  ravine  that 
wound  'along  the  bases  of  several  hills,  which  were  all 
crowned  by  the  excited  savages.  Perceiving  that  it  was 
their  purpose  to  attack  us  in  this  dangerous  place,  I  turned 
aside  and  encamped,  the  whole  wild,  frenzied  mass  moving 
parallel  to  us,  and  by  yells,  taunts  and  menaces,  appar 
ently  trying  to  drive  us  to  some  initiatory  act  of  violence. 

Towards  night  a  number  of  chiefs  rode  up  to  talk  with 
me,  and  inquired  what  were  our  motives  to  this  intrusion 
upon  them? 

I  answered,  that  we  were  passing  on  the  Colville,  and 
had  no  hostile  intentions  toward  the  Spokanes,  who  had 
always  been  our  friend,  nor  towards  any  other  tribes  who 
were  friendly;  that  my  chief  aim  in  coming  so  far  was  to 
see  the  Indians  and  the  white  people  at  Colville  and,  by 
friendly  discussion  with  both,  endeavor  to  strengthen  their 
good  fellowship  with  each  other. 

They  expressed  themselves  satisfied,  but  would  not  con 
sent  to  let  me  have  canoes,  without  which  it  would  be 
impossible  to  cross  the  Spokane  river. 

I  concluded,  for  this  reason,  to  retrace  my  steps  at 
once  and  the  next  morning  (17th)  turned  back  towards  this 
post.  We  had  not  marched  three  miles  when  the  Indians, 


who  had  gathered  on  the  hills  adjoining  the  line  of  march, 
began  an  attack  upon  the  rear  guard,  and  immediately  the 
fight  became  general. 

We  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  to  defend 
the  pack  train — while  in  motion  and  in  a  rolling  country 
peculiarly  favorable  to  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare.  We 
had  only  a  small  quantity  of  ammunition,  but  in  their  ex 
citement,  the  soldiers  could  not  be  restrained  from  firing 
it  in  the  wildest  manner,  they  did,  however  under  the  lead 
ing  of  their  respective  commanders,  sustain  well  the 
reputation  of  the  army  for  some  hours,  charging  the  enemy 
repeatedly  with  gallantry  and  success. 


Brevet  Captain  Taylor 

The  difficult  and  dangerous  duty  of  flanking  the  column 
was  assigned  to  Brevet  Captain  Taylor  and  Lieutenant 
Gaston,  to  both  of  whom  it  proved  fatal.  The  latter  fell 
about  12  o'clock,  and  the  enemy  soon  after  charged  for 
mally  upon  his  company,  it  fell  back  in  confusion  and 
could  not  be  rallied.  About  a  half  hour  after  this,  Captain 
Taylor  was  brought  in  mortally  wounded;  upon  which  I 
immediately  took  possession  of  a  convenient  height  and 
halted. 

The  fight  continued  here  with  unabated  activity,  the 
Indians  occupying  neighboring  heights  and  working  them- 


23 


selves  along  to  pick  off  our  men.  The  wounded  increased 
in  number  continually.  Twice  the  enemy  gave  unmistakable 
enidence  of  a  design  to  carry  our  position  by  assault,  and 
their  number  and  desperate  courage  caused  me  to  fear 
the  most  serious  consequences  to  us  from  such  an  attempt 
on  their  part. 

It  was  manifest  that  the  loss  of  their  officers  and  com 
rades  began  to  tell  upon  the  spirit  of  the  soldiers,  and 
they  were  becoming  discouraged  and  not  to  be  relied  upon 
with  confidence.  Some  of  them  were  recruits  but  recently 
joined;  two  of  the  companies  had  muske  toons,  which  were 
utterly  worthless  in  our  present  condition;  and,  whatwas 
the  most  alarming  only  two  or  three  rounds  of  cartridges 
remained  to  some  of  the  men,  and  but  few  to  any  of  them. 
It  was  plain  that  the  enemy  would  give  the  troops  no  rest 
during  the  night,  and  they  would  be  still  further  disquali 
fied  for  stout  resistance  on  the  morrow,  while  the  number 
of  the  enemies  would  certainly  be  increased. 

I  determined  for  these  reasons  to  make  a  forced  march 
to  Snake  river,  about  85  miles  distant,  and  secure  the 
canoes  in  advance  of  the  Indians,  who  had  already  threat 
ened  to  do  the  same  with  us.  After  consulting  with  the 
officers,  all  of  whom  urged  me  to  the  step  as  the  only 
means,  in  their  opinion,  of  securing  the  safety  of  the  com 
mand,  I  concluded  to  abandon  everything  which  might 
impede  our  march. 

Accordingly,  we  set  out  about  10  o'clock  in  perfectly 
good  order,  leaving  the  disabled  animals  and  such  as  were 
not  in  condition  to  travel  so  far  and  so  fast,  and,  with  deep 
pain,  I  have  to  add  the  two  howitzers.  The  necessity  for 
this  last  measure  will  give  you,  as  well  as  many  words, 
a  conception  of  the  strait  to  which  we  believed  ourselves 
to  be  reduced.  Not  an  officer  of  the  command  doubted  that 
we  would  be  overwhelmed  with  the  first  rush  of  the  enemy 
upon  our  position  in  the  morning;  to  retreat  further  by 
day,  with  our  wounded  men  and  property,  was  out  of  the 
question;  to  retreat  slowly  by  night  was  equally  so  as  we 
could  not  then  be  in  condition  to  fight  all  next  day;  it  was 
therefore  necessary  to  relieve  ourselves  of  all  encum 
brances  and  to  fly. 

We  had  no  horses  able  to  carry  the  guns  over  80  miles 
without  resting  and  if  the  enemy  should  attack  us  en  route, 
as  from  their  ferocity  we  certainly  expected  they  would, 
not  a  soldier  could  be  spared  for  any  other  duty  than 
skirmishing.  For  these  reasons,  which  I  own  candidly 
seemed  to  me  more  cogent  at  the  time  than  they  do  now, 
I  resolved  to  bury  the  howitzers.  What  distresses  me  is 
that  no  attempt  was  made  to  bring  them  off;  and  all  I  can 
add  is  that,  if  this  was  an  error  of  judgment  I  believe, 
every  officer  agreed  with  me. 

Enclosed  is  a  list  of  the  killed  and  wounded.  The  enemy 
acknowledge  a  loss  of  9  killed  and  40  or  50  wounded, 
many  of  them  mortally.  It  is  known  to  us  that  this  is  an 
underestimate,  for  one  of  the  officers  informs  me  that 
a  single  spot  where  Lieutenants  Gregg  and  Gastonmet  in 
a  joint  charge  twelve  dead  Indians  were  counted.  Many 
others  were  seen  to  fall. 

I  cannot  do  justice  in  this  communication  to  the  conduct 
of  the  officers  throughout  the  affair.  The  gallant  bearing 
of  each  and  all  was  accompanied  by  an  admirable  coolness 
and  sound  judgment.  To  the  skill  and  promptness  of 


Assistant  Surgeon  Randolph,  the  wounded  are  deeply  in 
debted.  Be  pleased  to  excuse  the  hasty  appearance  of  this 
letter;  I  am  anxious  to  get  it  off  and  have  not  time  to  have 
it  transcribed. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 
E.J.  Steptoe 
Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel  U.S.  Army 


Winfield  Scott 

Major  W.A.  Mackall, 

This  report  bears,  under  date  of  July  15,  1858,  the 
tollowing  endorsement  of  General  Winfield  Scott: 

This  is  a  candid  report  of  a  disastrous  affair.  The  small 
supply  of  ammunition  is  surprising  and  unaccounted  for. 

It  seems  that  Brevet  Brigadier  General  Clarke  has 
ordered  up  all  the  disposable  troops  in  California,  and  pro 
bably  will  further  reinforce  Steptoe's  district  by  detach 
ments  of  the  4th  and  9th  regiments  of  infantry;  and  on  the 
29th  ultimo  I  gave  instructions  for  sending  the  6th  and  7th 
regiments  of  infantry  from  Salt  Lake  valley  across  the 
Pacific  and  via  Walla  Walla,  if  practicable,  in  preference 
to  any  route  south  of  that. 

Respectfully  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 
Winfield  Scott 

The  list  of  killed  and  wounded,  enclosed  by  Colonel  Step- 
toe  with  his  report,  contained  the  names  of  Captain  0.  H.  P. 
Taylor  and  Lieutenant  William  Gaston  and  three  enlisted  men, 
killed;  two  men  mortally  wounded;  six  men  severly  wounded; 
seven  slightly  wounded  and  one  man  missing,  FirstSergeant 
Edward  Ball. 

The  roster  of  officers  accompanying  the  expedition  con 
tained  the  names,  in  addition  to  the  commander  and  the  two 
who  were  killed  of  Captain  Charles  S.  Winder,  9th  infantry, 
in  charge  of  the  howitzers;  Lieutenant  D.  McM.  Gregg,  com 
manding  dragoon  company;  Lieutenant  H.  B.  Fleming,  acting 
assistant  quartermaster  and  acting  comissary  of  subsis 
tence. 


24 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


Lieutenant  H.  B.  Fleming 


With  his  first  formal  reports  out  of  the  way,  Colonel  Step- 
toe  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  acquainting  his  superior 
officers  of  his  views  of  the  situation  in  which  the  garrison  at 
Fort  Walla  Walla  found  itself  in  the  weeks  following  the  di 
saster.  It  must  have  been  gall  to  his  proud  spirit  to  pen  the 
following:  "I  hope  the  general  will  send  us  as  strong  a  force 
as  possible,  and  with  all  the  dispatch  possible.  The  tribes 
around  this  post  are  watching  eagerly  to  see  what  they  can 
gain  by  joining  the  hostile  party.  One  of  my  keenest  regrets 
growing  out  of  the  late  affair  is  the  consciousness  that  our 
defeat  must,  until  something  is  done  to  check  it,  encourage 
the  wavering  to  active  hostilities." 

But  it  was  not  time  for  prolonged  regrets.  He  faced  the 
task  of  culling  the  valuable  fruits  from  his  ugly  and  disas 
trous  experience  and  by  so  doing  equipped  his  general  offi 
cers  with  whatever  valuable  knowledge  had  been  gained  by 
his  experiment,  for  use  in  the  campaign  of  punishment 
which  he  knew  was  sure  to  follow. 

His  suggestion  about  fortifying  the  ferrying  place  was 
carried  out  by  Colonel  Wright  later  in  the  year.  Some  of 
Steptoe's  observations  were  as  follows: 

I  take  the  liberty  to  recommend,  as  the  very  first  step 
in  prosecuting  the  war  with  the  northern  tribes,  the 
establishment  of  a  post  on  Snake  River,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Pelouse — a  temporary  work,  from  which  the  gar 
rison  can  fall  back  to  this  point  on  the  approach  of  win 
ter.  The  road  to  Colville  crosses  there,  but  the  great 
advantage  of  having  such  an  advanced  post  will  be  in  thus 
obtaining  a  sure  ferry.  I  had  vast  difficulty  in  getting 
dragoon  horses  over  Snake  River,  which  is  everywhere 
wide,  deep  and  strong,  and  without  assistance  of  Tim 
othy's  Nez  Perces  it  would  have  been  utterly  impossible 
for  us  to  cross,  wither  going  or  returning,  beside  this, 
the  Pelouse  tribe  ought  to  be  the  first  one  struck  at,  as 
it  is  the  most  hostile  and  guilty  a  few  weeks  since  of 
murdering  two  white  men  on  the  Colville  road. 


A  few  companies  of  infantry  could  construct  a  kind  of 
intrenchment  there  in  a  few  days,  which  one  company 
could  easily  defend,  and  at  the  same  time  guard  the 
ferry  boat.  There  is  absolutely  no  other  way  of  crossing 
this  stream  with  certainty. 

In  this  connection  I  may  inform  you  that  the  fight  with 
my  command  only  committed  the  Indians  to  hostilities  a 
little  earlier,  and  probably  under  more  fortunate  circum 
stances  for  us. 

A  few  minutes  before  the  attack  upon  us,  Father  Joseph 
(Joset?)  the  priest  at  Coeur  d'Alene  mission,  joined  me 
and  stated  to  me  that  most  of  the  excitement  among  the 
tribes  was  due  to  mischievous  reports  that  the  govern 
ment  intended  to  seize  their  lands,  in  proof  of  which  they 
were  invited  to  observe  whether  a  party  would  not  soon 
be  surveying  a  road  through  it.  He  added  that  the  Coeur 
d'Alenes,  Spokane  and  Flatheads  had  bound  themselves 
to  massacre  any  party  that  should  attempt  to  make  a 
survey. 

I  do  not  doubt  in  the  least  the  truth  of  this  statement, 
and  make  no  question  that  Lieutenant  Mullan's  party  has 
been  saved  from  destruction  by  late  occurrences.  Of 
course,  the  present  state  of  our  relations  with  the  north 
ern  tribes  will  make  it  impossible  for  Lieutenant  Mullan 
to  proceed  with  his  survey. 

Again  Colonel  Steptoe  contributes  to  the  information 
of  General  Clarke  in  these  words: 

Since  my  return  to  this  post  the  Indians  in  this  vicinity 
who  began  to  show  much  restlessness  have  become  quiet 
again.  Reports  were  busily  circulated  amongst  them 
were  disposed  to  take  advantage  of  our  supposed  con 
dition. 

I  ought  to  advise  you  that,  from  the  best  information 
to  be  obtained,  about  half  of  the  Spokane,  Coeur  d'Alenes 
and  probably  of  the  Flatheads,  nearly  all  of  the  Nez 
Perces,  with  scattered  families  of  various  petty  tribes, 
have  been  for  some  time,  and  now  are,  hostile. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  force  they  can  bring  to 
gether,  but,  of  course,  they  cannot  keep  together  long 
a  force  of  any  size. 

A  good,  strong  column  of  three  or  four  hundred  infan 
try,  with  two  or  three  companies  of  mounted  men,  would 
be  able  to  beat  them,  I  think,  under  all  circumstances; 
or  else  to  disperse  them  thoroughly,  which  would  have 
nearly  the  same  effect.  It  is  unfortunate  that  such  a  call 
cannot  be  sent  out  before  the  season  for  gathering  roots 
has  passed. 

There  is  much  doubt  on  my  mind  where  the  Indians 
obtained  their  ammunition,  of  which  they  had  an  abun 
dance.  Some  persons  believe  that  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
priest  furnished  it,  but  I  do  not  credit  that;  my  im 
pression  is  that  it  was  obtained  either  from  the  Colville 
traders,  or  the  Mormons.  The  priest,  in  conversation 
with  me,  alluded  to  the  report  so  injurious  to  his  repu 
tation  and  added  that  it  was  a  charge  too  monstrous 
for  him  to  notice  in  a  formal  way. 

Of  one  thing  the  general  may  be  assured,  and  that  is 
that  the  tribes  through  whose  lands  the  proposed  road 
to  Fort  Benton  will  run  are  resolved  to  prevent  it,  and 
even  before  a  survey  can  be  made  they  will  have  to  be 
chastised. 


TE-HOTO-NIM-ME 


25 


8 


Gregg's  Letter 


From  out  the  Pennsylvania  hills  enclosing  the  Susquehanna 
valley,  there  emerged  in  1851  a  tall,  angular  youth,  in  whose 
body  there  was  the  element  of  muscular  litheness  which  al 
ways  suggests  power  with  suppleness.  The  young  man  was 
en  route  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  to  which  he 
was  graduated,  being  eighth  in  the  order  of  credit  standing. 
He  selected  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  service  and  opened  his 
military  career  with  the  straps  of  abrevet  second  lieutenant- 
a  kind  of  provisional  assignment.  In  1855  West  Point  was 
turning  out  field  officers  faster  than  the  army  had  regular 
places  for  them,  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  early  months  of  1898, 
when  students  were  taken,  undiplomaed,  from  the  institution 
and  thrust  into  active  field  service  in  the  Cuban  war. 

A  few  months  from  graduation  found  the  tall  young  Penn- 
sylvanian  with  a  full  lieutenancy  and  regularly  established 
with  the  First  United  States  dragoons.  Then  followed  work 
during  various  Indian  campaigns,  during  which  he  was  recog 
nized  by  fellows,  superiors  and  subordinates  as  a  natural 
horseman,  an  intuitive  cavalry  officer,  intrepid  in  action, 
quick  to  execute  and  unerring  in  comprehension  of  commands. 
A  fellow  officer  has  said  that  his  lithe,  long  form  was  of 
just  such  fiber  and  proportion  as  nature  intended  for  making 
saddle  and  remaining  there.  He  seemed  a  centaur  enlightened 
by  the  best  military  education  and  training. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  War  for  the  Union,  this  cavalry 
officer  was  adjutant  of  his  regiment.  He  was  a  captain  before 
Bull  Run  jarred  the  American  people  into  the  first  awful 
realization  that  grim  war  was  on  in  earnest.  Before  Grant 
had  reduced  Fort  Donelson,  the  lithe  and  lone  one  had  gone 
back  to  his  native  Pennsylvania  to  raise  among  her  sons  a 
regiment  of  volunteer  cavalry.  Next  he  wore  the  eagle  and 
reappeared  a  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania.  Before  '62 
had  run  its  course,  he  was  a  brigadier.  Then  for  three  years 
Virginia  knew  him.  The  northern  valleys  of  the  Old  Dominion 
knew  the  hoof  beat  of  his  charge  rand  the  sweep  of  his  saber. 
He  was  making  history  with  the  deeds  of  Gregg's  brigade 
and  Gregg's  division.  Sheridan  acknowledged  his  services, 
and  "Jeb"  Stuart  and  Buford  felt  his  prowess.  In  the  summer 
of  1864,  the  government  put  another  star  in  the  shoulder 
straps  of  David  McMurtrie  Gregg,  "for  highly  meritorious 
and  distinguished  conduct." 

Second  Lieutenant  Gregg  commanded  a  company  in  the  ill- 
starred  expedition  to  Steptoe,  who  mentions  the  fighting 
qualities  displayed  by  the  young  man.  He  was  with  Colonel 
Wright  in  the  subsequent  campaign  and  was  conspicuous  in 
the  battles  of  the  Four  Lakes  and  the  Spokane  Plains.  In 
September  of  1858,  he  was  one  of  the  detachment  sent  by 


Lt.  David  McMurtry  Gregg 

Wright  to  the  scene  of  the  Steptoe  fight  and  was  again  on  the 
spot  where  he  saw  Gaston  fall. 

Writing  from  his  home  in  Redding,  Pa.,  in  1907,  he  having 
long  since  gone  on  the  army's  retired  list,  he  expressed  him 
self  briefly,  touching  his  recollections  of  a  half-century 
earlier  while  in  Washington  territory.  General  Gregg  said: 
"I  am  the  only  surviving  officer  of  Colonel  Steptoe's  com 
mand  that  visited  the  Steptoe  battlefield,  when  we  pointed 
out  the  positions  held  by  us  at  the  several  hours  of  the  day." 

No  discussion,  no  explanation  was  vouchsafed  by  this  old 
warrior.  Then,  looking  back  over  the  vista  of  years  and 
through  the  smoke  of  those  Virginia  campaigns,  he  added: 
"When  I  was  in  the  region  of  your  city  fifty  years  ago,  our 
party  was  not  hospitably  entertained,  our  presence  was  not 
agreeable  to  the  Spokane  nation  and  we  were  compelled  to 
leave;  in  a  second  visit  a  few  months  later,  we  went  where 
we  would." 

But,  returning  to  Fort  Walla  Walla  after  the  repulse  of  the 

Steptoe  column,  Lieutenant  Gregg  wrote  a  private  letter  to  a 

friend  in  which  he  gives  more  of  detail  than  is  to  be  found  in 

the    formal    military  communication  of  the  commanding 

officer.  Its  chief  and  relevant  portions  are  here  given: 

"On  the  6th  instant  Colonel  Steptoe,  with  C,  E  and  H 

Companies  of  the  1st  dragoons  and  twenty-five  men  of 

the  9th  infantry,  with  two  mountain  howitzers,  left  Fort 


27 


Walla  Walla  for  Colville.  The  officers  of  the  command 
were  Colonel  Steptoe,  Captains  Winder  and  Taylor  and 
Lieutenants  Wheeler,  Fleming,  Gaston  and  Gregg.  After 
marching  eight  days  we  reached  the  Palouse  river,  and 
were  about  passing  into  the  Spokane  country  when  we  were 
informed  by  Indians  that  the  Spokanes  would  resist  our 
entrance  into  the  country.  The  Spokanes  have  always  been 
regarded  as  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  when  we  left 
Walla  Walla  no  one  thought  of  having  an  encounter  with 
them  or  any  other  Indians  on  the  march. 


suiting  demonstrations  on  their  part.  We  dared  not  dis 
mount,  and  were  in  the  saddle  three  hours  until  the  set 
ting  of  the  sun  dispersed  the  Indians. 

On  Monday  morning  we  left  camp  to  return  to  the 
Pelous,  marching  in  the  following  order:  H  company  in 
advance,  C  in  the  center,  with  the  packs,  and  E  in  the 
rear.  At  8  o'clock  the  Indians  appeared  in  great  numbers 
about  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  just  as  the  advance 
was  crossing  a  small  stream  they  began  firing.  In 
twenty  minutes  the  firing  became  continuous.  Seeing 


On  Sunday  morning,  on  leaving  camp,  we  were  told  that 
the  Spokanes  had  assembled  and  were  ready  to  fight  us. 
Not  believing  this,  our  march  was  continued  until  about 
11  o'clock,  when  we  found  ourselves  in  the  presence  of 
six  hundred  warriors  in  war  costume.  The  command 
halted  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  talk,  in  which  the  Spo 
kanes  announced  that  they  had  heard  we  had  gone  out  for 
the  purpose  of  wiping  them  out;  and  if  that  was  the  case 
they  were  ready  to  fight  us,  and  that  we  should  not  cross 
the  Spokane  river. 

The  Indians  were  well  mounted,  principally  armed 
with  rifles,  and  were  extended  along  our  flank  at  a  dis 
tance  of  one  hundred  yards.  After  some  talk  the  colonel 
told  us  we  would  have  to  fight,  and  we  immediately  put 
ourselves  into  position  to  move  to  better  ground,  deter 
mined  that  the  Spokanes  should  fire  the  first  gun.  After 
marching  a  mile  we  reached  a  sheet  of  water;  it  was 
decided  to  encamp  and  hold  another  discussion  with  the 
Indians.  Nothing  resulted  from  this  except  the  most  in- 


that  we  must  fight  and  that  the  action  must  become  gen 
eral,  I  was  ordered  to  move  forward  and  occupy  a  hill 
that  the  Indians  were  making  for,  and  upon  which  they 
would  have  a  close  fire  upon  the  head  of  the  column. 
After  a  close  race  I  gained  the  hill  in  advance;  on  seeing 
which  the  Indians  moved  around  and  took  possession  of 
one  commanding  that  which  I  occupied.  Leaving  a  few 
men  to  defend  the  first  hill,  and  deploying  my  men,  I 
charged  the  second  and  drove  them  off. 

At  this  time  the  action  was  general.  The  three  compa 
nies,  numbering  in  all  about  110  men,  were  warmly  en 
gaged  with  500  Indians.  The  companies  were  separated 
from  each  other  by  nearly  a  thousand  yards  and  fought 
entirely  by  making  short  charges.  At  11  o'clock  I  was 
reinforced  by  the  howitzers,  and  the  two  companies 
began  to  move  toward  the  position  I  held,  the  Indians 
pressing  closely  to  them.  As  E  company  was  approach 
ing,  a  large  body  of  Indians  got  between  it  and  my  com 
pany,  so  that  having  it  between  two  fires  could  wipe  it 


28 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


out  at  once.  Gaston,  seeing  this,  moved  quickly  towards 
me  having  the  Indians  in  his  front,  and  when  near  enough, 
and  I  saw  he  was  about  to  charge,  I  charged  with  the 
company.  The  result  was  that  our  companies  met,  hav 
ing  the  Indians  in  a  right  angle,  in  which  angle  we  left 
twelve  dead  Indians. 

After  getting  together,  we  kept  up  the  fighting  for  half  an 
hour,  and  again  started  to  reach  water,  moving  half  a 
mile  under  which  our  comrades  Taylot  and  Gaston  fell. 
We  finally  reached  a  hill  near  the  water  and  occupied  a 
summit.  The  Indians  having  now  completely  surrounded 
it,  we  dismounted  and  picketed  our  horses  close  together 
on  the  center  of  the  flat  inclined  summit,  and  posted  our 
men  around  the  crest,  making  them  lie  flat  on  the  ground, 
as  the  Indians  were  so  close  and  so  daring  as  to  attempt  to 
charge  the  hill,  but  although  outnumbering  us  eight  to 
one  they  could  not  succeed. 

Towards  evening,  our  ammunition  began  to  give  out, 
and  our  men,  suffering  so  much  from  thirst  and  fatigue, 
required  all  our  attention  to  keep  them  up.  To  move  from 
one  point  to  another,  we  had  to  crawl  on  our  hands  and 
knees  amid  the  howling  of  Indians,  the  groans  of  the 
dying  and  the  whistling  of  balls  and  arrows.  We  were 
kept  in  this  position  until  8  o'clock  p.m.,  when,  as  night 
came  on,  it  became  apparent  that  on  the  morrow  we  must 
"go  under,"  that  not  one  of  us  would  escape.  It  was  plain 
that,  nearly  destitute  of  ammunition,  we  were  completely 
surrounded  by  six  or  eight  hundred  Indians,  and  the  most 
of  these  were  on  points  which  we  must  pass  to  get  away. 
Therefore,  it  was  determined  that  we  should  run  the 
gauntlet,  so  that  if  possible,  some  might  escape. 

Abandoning  everything,  we  mounted  and  left  the  hill  at 
9  o'clock,  and  after  a  ride  of  ninety  miles,  mostly  at  a 
gallop  and  without  rest,  we  reached  the  Snake  river  at 
Red  Wolfs  crossing  the  next  evening,  and  were  met  by 
our  friends,  the  Nez  Perces. 

Captain  Taylor  was  shot  through  the  neck  and  Lieuten 
ant  Gaston  through  the  body;  they  both  fell  fighting  gal 
lantly.  The  companies  fought  bravely,  like  true  men. 
We  brought  our  horses  back  in  good  condition,  except 
about  thirty,  which  were  shot  during  the  fight.  The  In 
dians  made  no  captures.  Before  the  battle  was  near  over, 
the  Indians  picked  up  nine  of  their  dead;  how  many  of 
them  were  killed  is  not  known,  but  I  can  count  fifteen. 
They  acknowledge  having  forty  wounded. 

"It  will  take  a  thousand  men  to  go  into  the  Spokane  coun 
try." 

It  was  Chief  Timothy,  the  guide,  to  whom  credit  is  given 
for  saving  the  command.  Thomas  J.  Beall,  Step  toe's  chief 
packmaster,  standing  fifty  years  later  on  the  hill  from  which 
the  command  was  led  out  under  cover  of  darkness  by  the 
friendly  Nez  Perce,  has  told  the  story  of  the  last  few  hours 
on  that  hilltop.  The  years  have  whitened  his  hair  and  beard. 
Many  weary  miles  of  canyon  or  along  trail  had  stooped  his 
shoulders.  His  life  has  been  one  which  has  many  counter 
parts  in  the  taming  of  the  wild  country.  He  is  the  son  of 
Benjamin  Lloyd  Beall,  hero  of  the  Florida  and  Mexican  wars, 
and  grandson  of  Lloyd  Beall,  wounded  at  Germantown  and 
later  defender  of  Fort  Me  Henry.  But  Thomas  Beall's  busy 
life  lay  always  since  manhood  with  the  vanguard  of  civili 
zation  in  its  westward  march.  His  story  is  thus: 


"On  the  hill  we  visited  this  afternoon,  we  had  built  a 
little  fortification  about  two  feet  high,  of  packsaddles, 
sacks  of  flour,  bags  of  provisions,  etc.  Into  this  little 
shelter  we  had  brought  the  wounded  men  and  here  the 
officers  were  in  command.  The  soldiers  were  scattered 
out  in  the  bunchgrass  round  about.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
Colonel  Steptoe  had  directed  me  to  collect  all  the  ammuni 
tion  from  the  men  on  the  inner  lines  and  redistribute  it 
to  the  men  on  the  outer  line,  who  had  the  most  firing  to  do. 

When  night  fell,  our  position  was  desperate.  Chief  Tim 
othy  then  went  to  Colonel  Steptoe  and  volunteered  to  go 
out  and  see  if  there  might  not  be  some  gap  in  the  ring 
which  he  Indians  had  drawn  around  us.  He  came  back  af 
ter  about  an  hour  and  said  he  had  found  an  opening  through 
which  he  thought  we  might  escape.  He  reported  that  by 
crossing  the  creek  and  ascending  a  steep  hill  on  the  oppo 
site  side,  the  command  could  find  a  short  cut  to  a  point 
on  the  trail  several  miles  distant. 

Qne  of  the  officers  protested  against  this  undertaking. 
He  said  that  he  believed  that  Timothy  meant  to  lead  the 
command  into  a  trap.  Colonel  Steptoe  said:  "But  gentlemen 
what  can  we  do?  Our  ammunition  is  gone,  we  are  sur 
rounded  and  greatly  outnumbered,  and  if  we  stay  here 
until  morning  we  shall  be  killed.  I  have  confidence  in  Tim 
othy  and  will  let  him  try  to  guide  us  out  of  here." 

Captain  Taylor  was  the  only  one  of  those  killed  to  be 
buried.  We  also  buried  the  two  howitzers  and  sunk  the  gun 
carriages  in  the  waters  of  the  creek.  Fires  were  kindled 
to  deceive  the  Indians  into  thinking  that  the  command  was 
still  in  camp;  and  then  the  order  was  given  for  each  man 
to  mount,  taking  nothing  but  his  weapons.  The  severely 
wounded  men  who  could  not  maintain  themselves  in  the 
saddle  were  tied  in  place,  and  we  slipped  through  the  gap 
under  Timothy's  guidance  and  never  stopped  to  rest  our 
horses  or  to  eat  until  we  reached  the  Snake  river. 

The  sergeant  of  that  little  rear  guard,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  maintain  the  fires,  keep  the  mules  stirring  about  and  give 
the  deserted  hill  the  aspect  of  a  real  live  camp  for  the  space 
of  an  hour  after  the  column  had  filed  out,  has  retained  very 
vivid  recollection  of  the  events  of  the  sorrowful  day  and 
trying  night.  Sergeant  Michael  Kenny  had  been  bereaved  by 
the  death  of  Captain  Taylor  in  losing  both  his  company  com 
mander  and  a  warm  personal  friend.  It  devolved  upon  Kenny, 
after  Lieutenant  Wheeler  had  assumed  command  of  the  com 
pany,  to  pick  three  men  and  bury  the  officer's  body.  It  lay 
down  the  hillside  some  distance  from  the  little  fortification 
which  formed  the  rallying  point  late  in  the  afternoon.  When 
this  little  detail  returned,  one  private  was  missing,  James 
Lynch,  shot  while  digging  the  grave.  Later  it  fell  to  Sergeant 
Kenny  to  tell  the  widow  and  two  children,  who  had  but  recent 
ly  joined  Captain  Taylor  after  a  long  separation,  whatever 
of  comfort  might  be  rescued  from  the  cruel  facts.  Four 
months  later,  with  Mrs.  Taylor  and  the  children,  Kenny  re 
ceived  the  body  as  it  was  brought  by  Colonel  Wright  to 
Walla  Walla  and  there  reinterred  with  military  honors  in  the 
little  government  cemetery.  And  to  this  day  the  sense  of 
bereavement  is  shared  by  Captain  Taylor's  surviving  daugh 
ter  with  old  Sergeant  Mike  Kenny. 

But  that  day  and  that  night  in  1858  brought  tears  to  the  gray 
eyes  of  Michael  Kenny  as  he  stood  fifty  years  later  on  the 
same  spot.  Not  of  Captain  Taylor's  death  and  his  part  in  the 


GREGG'S  LETTER 


29 


burial  did  he  speak  in  public,  nor  yet  of  the  fighting  or  even 
of  the  dangerous  duty  assigned  to  that  little  rearguard.  He 
told  of  the  hard  work  of  binding  the  wounded  in  the  saddle, 
of  the  agony  of  the  change  of  position,  of  the  appeals  to  be 
shot  rather  than  undergo  more  extreme  suffering. 

"We  followed  the  main  column  without  being  seen  by  the 
Indians,"  Sergeant  Kenny  told  the  people  of  Rosalia.  "One 
of  the  wounded  men  had  been  shot  through  the  hips  and  could 
not  walk.  He  had  been  tied  in  the  saddle  but  had  not  gone  very 
far  before  he  fell  over  and  had  been  lost  in  the  darkness. 
When  we  came  along,  we  found  him,  begging  piteously  to  be 
shot,  but  we  could  do  nothing  to  save  him." 

No  one  asked  the  old  man  why  he  broke  down  at  this  point 
and  could  go  no  further.  Other  statements  herein  made  upon 
his  authority  were  made  by  him  in  private  conversation. 

When  four  months  had  passed  over  the  evacuated  field,  a 
cluster  of  United  States  soldiers  stood  on  the  hillside  where 
red  and  white  clashed  in  the  last  decisive  victory  ever  won 
by  natives  in  the  Inland  Empire.  It  was  the  detachment  of 
cavalry  under  MajorGrier  sent  from  the  command  of  Colonel 
George  Wright.  Lieutenant  Mullan  has  left  the  following 
account  of  this  pilgrimage: 

"This  detached  command  started  early  on  the  morning 
of  the  24th,  passed  over  a  series  of  rolling  hills  and  in 
two  miles  reached  a  narrow  strip  of  cottonwood,  with  a 
broad  belt  of  pine  timber  to  our  right.  This  same  charac 
ter  continued  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  when  we 
reached  a  prairie  bottom  some  300  yards  wide,  lined  on 
either  side  by  walls  of  basaltic  rock  100  feet  high,  in 
which  was  the  dry  bed  of  a  lake  from  which  flows  in  the 


spring  season,  a  small  creek  that  flows  into  Ingossornen 
creek.  At  this  point  the  pine  timber  had  become  more 
sparse  and  much  scattered,  save  a  few  detached  clumps 
where  it  was  more  dense. 

At  eight  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Lahtoo,  this  prairie 
bottom,  which  runs  north  and  south,  is  intersected  by  a 
canyon  running  at  right  angles  to  it  and  fifty  yards  wide. 
It  was  at  the  southwest  corner  of  this  intersection  that  the 
rear  guard  of  Colonel  Steptoe's  command,  under  Lieu 
tenant  Gaston,  was  fired  upon  in  the  retreat  of  May  17, 
1858.  The  trail  west  of  small  dry  willow  creek,  in  a  mile 
to  the  south  crossed  it  to  the  east  and  ascended  a  hill  some 
250  feet  high,  where  a  first  position  of  the  howitzers  was 
taken. 

Gaining  the  summit  of  this  hill,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  ground  upon  which  Colonel  Steptoe's 
command  operated. 

Lieutenant  Gregg  commanding  in  advance,  with  Lieu 
tenant  Gaston  on  the  hills  to  the  left,  Captain  Taylor  on 
the  right,  with  Sergeant  Williams  in  the  rear,  the  retreat 
was  made  along  the  southern  post  of  the  hill,  where  they 
entered  the  valley  of  the  Ingossomen  creek.  This  last 
stream  rises  in  a  range  of  low  prairie  hills  and  flows  in 
a  northerly  direction  until,  reaching  the  base  of  the  hills, 
it  makes  a  sharp  bend  to  the  south  and  west.  This  stream 
at  this  season  has  no  current,  is  two  feet  deep,  fifteen 
yards  wide,  and  water  lying  in  long  canal  shaped  basaltic 
basins.  From  this  hill  westwards  the  pines  continued  in 
its  valley  and  near  its  border;  while  to  the  south  nothing 
but  a  few  clumps  of  scattered  cottonwood  along  the  banks 
of  the  Ingossomen  were  to  be  seen. 


30 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


9 


Father  Josef's  Account 


Father  Joset 

After  the  first  flush  of  jubilation  had  surged  over  the  In 
dians  involved  in  the  attack  uponSteptoe  there  came  a  period 
of  inactivity.  Immediately  the  war  department  commenced 
the  organization  of  an  expedition  of  reprisal  and  punishment. 
But  with  the  Indians  there  was  inactivity,  and  inactivity 
begets  meditation,  even  in  the  aboriginal  mind.  There  were 
still  voices  for  war.  Kamiahkin  came  to  the  Spokane  Valley, 
and  his  endeavor  was  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  revolt,  but 
he  found  that  he  had  some  fences  to  fix  if  he  were  to  preserve 
his  league  of  opposition. 

Sober  second  thought  had  overtaken  many  of  those  formerly 
active  in  advocation  hostility.  They  found  themselves  in  a 
position  of  desperation  not  unlike  that  of  the  miscreant  lad 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  consequences  of  his  wanton  act. 
Taken  all  in  all,  Indian  sentiment  along  the  Spokane  and  in 
the  Coeur  d'Alene  hills  was  a  strange  mixture  of  frenzy  and 
penitence. 

The  first  to  discern  the  ultimate  results  to  the  Indians 
themselves  because  of  their  outbreak  were  the  Coeur  d* 
Alenes  priests.  Naturally  they  felt  alarm  for  their  charges. 
They  had  become  the  mentors  and  advisors  of  the  natives. 
They  had  won  a  place  in  the  Indian  heart  as  accepted  and  un 
questioned  goodness.  Father  Joset  had  rebuked  the  advocates 
of  hostility  and  had  himself  been  the  subject  of  threats  for 


interference  with  the  war  spirit.  Resolved  to  prevent,  if  pos 
sible,  the  attack  on  Steptoe,  he  found  that  his  wards  had 
deprived  him  of  easiest  means  of  transport  to  the  expected 
battlefield. 

Father  Joset  did  see  a  part  of  the  engagement,  and  exerted 
himself  in  behalf  of  the  troops.  In  the  month  of  June  he  jour 
neyed  to  Fort  Vancouver,  to  which  post  General  Clarke  had 
removed  his  headquarters,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  immediate  plans  of  the  government  with  reference  to  his 
charges.  He  rendered  to  his  superior,  Father  Congiato,  a 
circumstantial  account  of  the  condition  of  the  native  mind 
before  the  Steptoe  expedition  and  gave  his  version  of  the 
happenings  at  the  scene  of  the  conflict.  This  letter  was  writ 
ten  at  Vancouver  and,  though  formally  addressed  to  his 
superior  in  the  J  esuit  Society,  was  doubtless  intended  for 
the  perusal  of  General  Clarke  and  did  become  a  part  of  the 
official  records  connected  with  the  campaign. 

The  letter  is  quaint  in  many  of  its  expressions,  as  might 
be  expected  from  a  native  of  Switzerland  speaking  the  French 
language  in  the  outposts  of  the  United  States.  It  breathes  a 
spirit  of  solicitude  for  the  wards  of  the  writer.  It  reflects 
the  anxiety  of  a  gentle  priest.  It  is  eloquent  of  the  Indian 
manner  of  thought.  It  is  the  best  description  extant  of  the 
immediate  causes  of  the  attack  on  the  troops.  It  gives  a 
clearer  insight  into  the  real  status  of  affairs  than  any  other 
document.  It  portrays  the  tense  strife  among  the  red  men 
themselves.  It  is  a  narrative  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  dis 
cussion  and  a  plea.  Scripsit: 
Vancouver,  June  27th,  1858 

My  Reverend  Father:  I  am  going  to  try  and  satisfy  the 
demand  that  you  have  made  of  me  for  a  detailed  relation 
of  the  events  of  the  unfortunate  17th  of  May,  and  of  the 
causes  which  have  brought  such  said  results. 

Do  not  think,  my  reverend  father,  that  I  am  beknowing 
to  all  the  affairs  of  the  savages,  there  is  a  great  deal 
wanting;  they  come  to  us  about  the  affairs  of  their  con 
science,  but  as  to  the  rest  they  consult  us  but  little. 
I  asked  one  day  of  Michel  the  question  if  a  plot  was 
brewed  among  the  Indians?  Do  you  think  that  there  would 
be    any    one    in   it   who   would  warn  the  missionary? 
No  one,  he  replied. 

This  was  to  tell  me  explicity  that  he  himself  would  not 
inform  me. 

However,  the  half  breeds  should  know  it,  added  I,  much 
less  still  than  the  father. 

After  the  battle,  Bonaventure,  one  of  the  best  young 
men  in  the  nation,  who  was  not  in  the  fight  and  who,  as  I 


31 


U*GS  -" 

•  n»«y»>jgii  _    .+*>*fP 


will  tell  later,  has  aided  us  a  great  deal  in  saving  the 
lives  of  the  Americans  who  were  at  the  mission  at  the 
time  of  the  battle,  Bonaventure  said  to  me. 

Do  you  think  that  if  we  thought  to  kill  the  Americans  we 
would  come  to  tell  you  so? 

You  appear  to  think  that  we  could  do  almost  anything 
with  the  Indians,  far  from  it.  Even  among  the  Coeur  d' 
Alenes  there  is  a  certain  number  that  we  never  see,  that 
I  do  not  know  in  any  manner.  The  majority  mistrust  me 
when  I  come  to  speak  in  favor  of  the  Americans. 

Those  who  were  present  at  the  assembly  called  by  Gov 
ernor  Stevens  in  the  Spokane  Prairie,  will  not  have  for 
gotten  how  much  the  Indians  insisted  that  the  troops  should 
not  pass  the  river  Nez  Perces  (Snake)  I  have  heard  that 
the  Indians  insinuate  several  times  that  they  had  no  objec 
tions  to  the  Americans  passing  through  their  country  in 
small  numbers,  but  much  to  their  passing  in  force,  as  if 
to  make  laws,  Last  winter  Michel  said  to  me: 

Father,  if  the  soldiers  exhibit  themselves  in  the  country 
of  the  mountains,  the  Indians  will  become  furious. 

I  had  heard  rumors  that  a  detachment  would  come  to 
Colville;  it  was  only  a  rumor,  and  having  to  go  down  in  the 
spring— having  also  written  to  you  to  that  effect,  I  intend 
to  go  inform  Colonel  Steptoe  of  this  disposition  of  the  In 
dians.  Toward  the  beginning  of  April  it  was  learned  that 
an  American  had  been  assassinated  by  a  Nez  Perce. 
Immediately  rumor  commences  to  circulate  that  troops 
were  preparing  to  cross  the  Nez  Perce  to  obtain  vengance 
for  this  crime. 

Toward  the  end  of  April,  at  the  time  of  my  departure, 
the  chief  Pierre  Prulin  told  me  not  to  go  now,  to  wait 
some  weeks  to  see  what  turn  affairs  are  going  to  take. 

I  am  too  hurried,  I  replied  to  him  I  cannot  wait,  and  as 


the  parents  of  the  young  men  I  have  chosen  appear 
troubled,  I  will  choose  other  companions  and  country. 

Arrived  at  the  Gomache  prairie,  I  met  the  express  of 
the  great  chief  Vincente;  this  told  me  to  return,  his  people 
thought  there  was  too  much  danger  at  that  moment. 

I  replied  that  I  was  going  to  wait  three  days,  to  give 
the  chief  time  to  find  me  himself;  that  if  he  did  not  come 
I  would  continue  my  route. 

I  said  to  myself  if  Vincente  really  believes  in  the  great 
ness  of  the  danger,  however  bad  or  however  long  the  road 
may  be,  he  will  not  fail  to  come.  In  the  meantime  I  saw 
several  Nez  Perces.  Their  conversation  was  generally 
against  the  Americans;  one  of  them  said  in  my  presence, 
we  will  not  be  able  to  bring  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  to  take 
part  with  us  against  the  Americans.  The  priest  is  the 
cause;  it  is  for  this  that  we  wish  to  kill  the  priest. 

Vincente  marched  day  and  night  to  find  me;  below  are 
in  substance  the  reasons  he  instanced  to  make  me  return: 

Of  the  danger  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  I  well  know 
that  there  is  none;  neither  is  there  any  danger  for  your 
person  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  You  would  be  able,  how 
ever,  to  come  back  on  foot,  but  we  are  not  on  good  terms 
with  the  Pelouses  and  the  Nez  Perces;  they  are  after  us 
without  cessation  to  determine  us  in  the  war  against  the 
Americans.  We  are  so  fatigued  with  their  underhand  deal 
ings  that  I  do  not  know  if  we  will  not  come  to  break 
entirely  with  them.  Their  spies  cover  the  country  in  every 
sense.  When  the  young  men  go  for  the  horses  they  will  kill 
them  secretly,  and  start  the  report  that  they  have  been 
killed  by  the  Americans;  then  there  will  not  be  any  means 
to  restrain  our  people.  We  hear  the  chief  of  the  soldiers 
spoken  of  only  by  the  Nez  Perces,  and  it  is  all  against  us 


32 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


and  to  excite  our  young  people.  I  have  great  desire  to  go 
to  see  him. 

It  was  agreed  that  when  I  should  go  down  I  would  take 
him  to  see  the  colonel;  it  is  then  I  learned  a  part  of  the 
rumors  which  were  spreading  over  the  country.  A  white 
man  had  said,  Poor  Indians,  you  are  finished  now;  the 
soldiers  are  preparing  to  cross  the  river  to  destroy  you; 
then  another  five  hundred  soldiers  will  go  to  establish 
themselves  at  Colville;  then  five  hundred  others  will  re 
join  them;  then  others  and  others  until  they  find  them 
selves  the  strongest;  then  they  will  chase  the  Indians 
from  the  country. 

Still  another  white  had  seen  five  hundred  soldiers  en 
camped  upon  the  Pelouse  preparing  themselves  to  cross 
the  river. 

All  the  above  passed  three  weeks  before  the  last  events. 

Among  other  things  Vincente  said  to  me;  if  the  troops 
are  coming  to  pass  the  river,  I  am  sure  the  Nez  Perces 
are  going  to  direct  them  upon  us. 

I  did  not  then  pay  much  attention  to  this  statement,  but 
later  I  saw  that  he  had  not  been  deceived  in  his  predic 
tions,  as  difficult  as  it  is  for  a  white  to  penetrate  an 
Indian,  just  so  difficult  is  it  for  one  Indian  to  escape  an 
other. 

To  return  to  the  mission;  I  was  not  without  anxiety  about 
what  might  happen  in  case  the  troops  should  come  into  the 
country.  I  was  almost  sure  of  the  dispositions  of  the  chiefs 
and  of  the  majority  of  the  nation;  but  I  knew  also  a  part  of 
the  youths  were  hotheaded,  not  easy  to  be  governed  in  the 
first  moment  of  irritation;  also  that  Kenuckin  might  make 
a  great  many  proselytes.  I  had  not  forgotten  the  infernal 
maxim  of  Voltaire,  "mutons  toujours,  il  en  restera 
quelque  lieu,"  was  true,  and  that  there  ought  to  remain 
something  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  thousand  and 
one  stories  of  this  horrible  Indian.  I  do  not  know,  how 
ever,  yet  that  he  repeated  without  cessation  to  the  Indian 
the  father  is  white  like  the  Americans;  they  have  but  one 
heart;  they  treated  the  young  Coeur  d'Alenes  like  women, 
like  prairie  wolves,  who  only  knew  how  to  make  a  noise. 

On  the  15th  day  of  May  I  received  another  express  from 
Vincente.  The  troops  had  passed  the  Nez  Perces;  they  had 
said  to  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  that  it  was  not  for  them  that 
the  soldiers  wished.  He  desired  me  to  go  to  aid  him  in 
preventing  a  conflict;  he  told  me  to  be  quick,  the  troops 
were  near;  I  set  out  in  an  instant;!  had  enough  trouble  to 
stop  these  young  men  who  were  working  at  the  mission; 
it  was  an  excitement  that  you  could  scarcely  imagine.  The 
good  old  Pierre  Vicent  not  only  refused  to  conduct  me  in 
his  canoe  to  the  lake,  but  bluntly  refused  to  loan  me  his 
canoe;  never  before  was  I  in  such  a  situation. 

The  distance  from  the  mission  to  Vincent's  camp  was, 
I  think  about  ninety  miles;  as  the  water  was  very  high,  I 
could  only  arrive  on  the  evening  of  the  16th. 

Vincent  told  me  that  he  had  been  kept  very  busy  to  re 
tain  his  young  men;  that  he  had  been  at  first  to  the  chief 
of  the  soldiers  and  had  asked  him  if  he  had  come  to  fight 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes;  that  upon  his  negative  reply  he  had 
said:  Well,  go  on,  but  to  his  great  displeasure  he  had 
camped  in  his  neighborhood  (about  six  miles);  that  then 
he  had  made  his  people  retire,  still  ablood-thirsty  Pelouse 
was  endeavoring  to  excite  them. 


Later  other  Indians  confirmed  to  me  the  same  report; 
they  were  Vincent  and  the  Spokane  chief  who  prevented 
the  fight  on  the  15th.  The  chiefs  of  the  different  tribes  and 
a  quantity  of  other  Indians  collected  around  me.  I  spoke  to 
them  to  persuade  them  to  peace.  I  told  them  that  they  did 
not  know  with  what  intention  the  chief  of  the  soldiers  were 
coming,  that  the  next  day  they  should  bring  me  a  horse, 
and  that  they  might  accompany  me  till  in  sight  of  the  camp 
of  the  soldiers;  that  I  would  then  go  alone  to  find  the  of 
ficers  in  command,  and  would  make  them  to  know  what 
was  not  doubtful;  they  appeared  well  satisfied.  I  said  still 
to  Vincent  to  see  that  no  person  took  the  advance. 
The  same  evening  they  came  from  the  camp  of  the 
Pelouse  to  announce  that  one  of  the  slaves  of  the  soldiers 
(it  is  thus  that  they  call  the  Indians  who  accompany  the 
troops)  had  just  arrived.  The  chief  of  the  soldiers  would 
have  said,  according  to  him:  You  Coeur  d'Alenes,  you  are 
well  to  do;  your  lands  your  women  are  ours. 

I  told  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  not  to  believe  it,  that  no  of 
ficer  ever  spoke  in  that  way;  tomorrow  I  will  ask  the  chief 
of  the  soldiers  if  he  has  said  that . 

The  next  morning  I  saw  the  Spokane's  Tshequyseken 
"Priest"  said  he  to  me:  Yesterday  evening  I  was  with  the 
chief  of  the  soldiers,  when  a  Pelouse  came  to  tell  him  that 
the  priest  had  just  arrived;  he  has  brought  some  powder 
to  the  Coeur  d'Alenes;  do  you  see  now  the  deceit  of  this 
people? 

Said  I,  they  go  and  slander  us  before  the  soldiers,  and 
slander  the  soldiers  here.  When  they  had  brought  me  a 
horse,  I  went  to  the  camp  of  the  soldiers;  they  were  far 
off.  I  set  out  in  their  direction  to  join  them.  I  saw  Col 
onel  Steptoe  made  him  acquainted  with  the  disposition  of 
the  Indians,  the  mistrust  the  presence  of  the  troops  would 
inspire,  and  how  I  had  been  kept  from  going  to  inform  him 
in  the  spring. 

He  told  me  that,  having  heard  by  letter  from  Colville 
that  the  whites  had  had  some  difficulty  with  the  Indians, 
he  had  at  first  resolved  to  go  there  with  a  few  men,  to 
talk  with  the  whites  and  Indians,  and  to  try  and  make  them 
agree;  but,  having  learned  that  the  Pelouses  were  badly 
disposed,  he  had  determined  to  take  a  stronger  escort; 
that,  had  he  known  the  Spokanes  and  Coeur  d'Alenes 
dreaded  the  presence  of  the  armed  force,  he  would  not 
have  come  without  having  notified  them;  that  he  was  much 
surprised  the  evening  before  to  see  the  Indians  that  they 
had  always  talked  peaceably  to  him,  then  to  come  to  meet 
him  with  such  hostile  demonstration,  he  had  well  though 
they  would  come  to  blows;  that  he  was  happy  to  return 
without  spilling  blood. 

I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  desire  to  see  the  chiefs;  upon 
his  reply  that  his  dragoons  horses  were  too  much 
frightened  to  stop  long,  I  observed  to  him  that  they  could 
talk  in  marching;  he  then  said  that  he  would  take  pleasure 
in  seeing  them. 

I  went  to  seek  them.  I  could  only  find  Vincent;  him  I 
conducted  to  the  colonel;  he  was  fully  satisfied  with  him. 
One  of  the  Indians  who  accompanied  the  troops  gave  Vin 
cent  a  blow  over  the  shoulders  with  his  whip,  saying: 
Proud  man,  why  do  you  not  fire?  then  accused  one  of  the 
Coeur  d'Alenes  who  had  followed  Vincent  of  having  wished 
to  fire  upon  a  soldier.  Vincent  was  replying  to  the  Colonel, 


FATHER  JOSET'S  ACCOUNT 


33 


when  his  uncle  came  to  seek  him,  saying  that  the  Pelouses 
were  about  commencing  the  fire.  I  warned  the  colonel  of 
it,  and  then  went  with  Vincent  to  try  and  restrain  the 
Spokanes  and  Coeur  d'Alenes;  when  we  had  made  them 
acquainted  with  the  disposition  of  the  colonel,  they  appear 
ed  well  satisfied.  Victor,  one  of  the  braves,  who  has  since 
died  of  his  wounds,  said  we  have  nothing  more  to  do  here, 
we  will  each  go  to  his  home.  Jean  Pierre,  chief,  supported 
the  proposition  of  Victor;  then  Malkapsi  became  furious. 

I  did  not  at  the  time  know  why.  I  found  out  later  that  he 
wished  all  to  go  to  the  camp  of  Vincent  to  talk  over  their 
affairs.  Malkapsi  slapped  Jean  Pierre,  and  struck  Victor 
with  the  handle  of  his  whip,  I  seized  the  infuriated  man; 
a  few  words  sufficed  to  calm  him. 

I  set  out  then  with  a  few  chiefs  to  announce  at  the  camp 
that  all  was  tranquil;  a  half  hour  or  an  hour  afterwards 
what  was  my  surprise  to  learn  that  they  were  fighting.  I 
had  well  indeed  to  ask  for  a  horse;  there  was  in  the  camp 
only  old  men  and  women;  it  was  about  3  o'clock  when  they 
brought  me  a  heavy  wagon  horse.  I  set  out,  however,  with 
the  hope  of  getting  there  by  night,  when  I  was  met  by  an 
Indian,  who  told  me  it  was  useless  to  fatigue  myself,  the 
Indian  are  enraged  at  the  death  of  their  people,  they  will 
listen  to  no  one;  whereupon  I  returned  to  my  tent,  the 
dagger  in  my  heart.  The  following  is  the  cause  of  this 
unhappy  conflict  as  it  has  been  related  to  me. 

The  parents  of  Malkapsi,  irritated  and  ashamed  of  his 
passion  said  to  him:  What  do  you  do?  You  maltreat  your 
own  people?  If  you  wish  to  fight,  behold  your  enemies 
(pointing  to  the  troops):  then  saying,  Oh,  well,  let  us  die, 
they  ran  towards  the  troops.  I  do  not  think  there  was  more 
than  a  dozen  of  them. 

The  affair  did  not  become  serious  until  Jacques,  an 
excellent  Indian,  well  beloved,  and  Zacharia,  brother-in- 
law  of  the  great  chief  Vincent,  had  been  killed;  then  the 
fury  of  the  Indians  knew  no  bounds.  The  next  day  I  asked 
those  that  I  saw;  What  provocation  have  you  received  from 
the  troops?. 

None,  said  they. 

Then  you  are  only  murderers,  the  authors  of  the  death 
of  your  own  people. 

This  is  true;  the  fault  can  in  no  way  be  attributed  to  the 
soldiers.  Malkapsi  is  the  cause  of  all  the  evil— they  said. 

But  they  were  not  all  so  well  disposed.  When  I  asked 
others  what  the  soldiers  had  done  to  them,  they  replied 
to  me: 

And  what  have  we  done  to  them,  that  they  should  come 
thus  to  seek  us;  if  they  were  going  to  Colville,  said  they, 
why  do  they  not  take  road,  no  one  of  us  would  then  think 
of  molesting  them.  Why  do  they  go  to  cross  the  Nez  Perce 
so  high  up?  Why  direct  themselves  into  the  interior  of  our 
country,  removing  themselves  further  from  Colville?  Why 
direct  themselves  upon  the  place  where  we  were  peaceably 
occupying  in  digging  our  roots?  Is  it  us  who  have  been  to 
seek  the  soldiers,  or  the  soldiers  who  have  come  to  fall 
upon  us  with  their  cannon. 

Thus,  although  they  avow  that  they  fired  first,  they 
pretend  that  the  first  act  of  hostility  came  from  the  troops. 
I  asked  them  if  they  had  taken  scalps.  They  told  me  no, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  piece  that  had  been  taken  by 
a  half  fool.  I  asked  them,  also,  if  they  had  interred  the 


dead.  They  replied  that  the  women  had  buried  them,  but 
that  the  Palouses  had  opened  the  graves  that  were  at  the 
encampment. 

It  is  then,  also  that  the  Indians  told  me;  We  see  now 
that  the  father  did  not  deceive  us  when  he  told  us  that  the 
soldiers  wished  peace.  We  forced  them  to  fight;  we  fired 
a  long  time  upon  them  before  they  answered  our  fire. 

As  to  the  actual  disposition  of  the  Indians  (Coeur  d' 
Alenes.)  I  think  they  can  be  recapitulated  as  follows: 
1st,  regret  for  what  has  happened;  all  protesting  that  there 
was  nothing  premeditated;  seeing  that  all  the  chiefs  and 
the  nation  in  general  were  decided  upon  peace;  it  was  an 
accident  which  brought  to  life  the  anger  of  the  older  men. 
2nd.  Disposition  to  render  up  what  they  have  taken  from 
the  troops,  in  order  to  have  peace.  3rd.  If  peace  is  refused 
them,  determination  to  fight  to  the  last. 

I  knew,  from  Colonel  Steptoe,  that  his  guide  mistook 
himself  so  grossly,  is  absurd  to  suppose.  It  appears  ne 
cessary  to  conclude  that  in  conducting  the  troops  straight 
upon  the  camp  of  the  Indians,  he  had  design.  It  cannot  be 
supposed  that  he  ignored  the  irritation  that  the  presence 
of  the  troops  would  produce  upon  the  Indians;  and  as  for 
the  rest,  the  intriguing  of  this  guide  is  well  known.  I  see 
no  other  way  to  explain  his  conduct,  than  to  say  that  he  laid 
a  snare  for  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  whom  he  wished  to  humil 
iate,  and  that  seeing  afterwards  the  troops  fall  in  the 
ditch  that  he  had  dug  for  others,  he  has  done  everything 
possible  to  draw  them  from  it 

The  Coeur  d'Alenes  say  also,  that  it  was  cried  to  them 
from  the  midst  of  the  troops;  Courage,  you  have  already 
killed  two  chiefs;  but  one  of  the  Nez  Perces  who  had  fol 
lowed  the  troops,  came  back  to  say  to  his  people:  It  is  not 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  but,  indeed,  the  soldiers,  who  killed 
the  two  Nez  Perces,  because  they  said  they  wished  to 
save  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  Indians. 

Neither  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  nor  the  Spokanes,  not 
the  Chaudries,  the  Pend  d'Oreilles  and  the  Tetes  Plattes 
had  split  white  blood;  they  pride  themselves  for  it. 

If  the  war  commences  now,  it  is  probable  it  will  ter 
minate  only  by  the  extermination  of  all  these  tribes,  for 
their  country  is  so  difficult  of  access  that  it  will  be  im 
possible  to  terminate  it  in  a  year  or  two,  and  almost  equal 
ly  impossible  that  it  continue  without  all  these  tribes, 
including  the  Pieds  Noirs,  taking  part  in  it. 

When  Governor  Stevens  was  to  see  the  Pieds  Noirs  to 
make  a  treaty  with  them,  they  said  to  our  Indians;  until 
now  we  have  quarrelled  about  one  cow,  but  now  we  are 
surprised  by  a  third;  we  will  unite  ourselves  against  him; 
if  the  Americans  attack  you,  I  will  aid  you;  if  they  attack 
me,  you  will  aid  me. 

The  war  will  cost  thousands  of  lives,  and  all  for  an 
affair  unpremediated,  and  for  which  the  Indians  feel  much 
regret.  You  will  easily  believe  me,  my  reverend  father, 
when  I  tell  you  I  would  purchase  back  with  a  life  this 
unhappy  event;  not  on  my  own  judgments  of  man  to  me, 
when  God  is  my  witness  that  I  have  done  everything  in  my 
power  to  preserve  peace.  Your  reverence  knows  very  well 
that  we  have  threatened  our  Indians  to  quit  them  if  they 
exhibit  themselves  hostile  against  the  whites.  They  expect 
to  see  themselves  abandoned  I  have  told  them  positively  we 
will  go.  To  quit  them  actually  wouldbeto  deliver  them  to 


34 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


the  deceit  of  Kenuokin,  and  to  light,  I  think  a  universal 
war  throughout  the  whole  country. 

What  pains  me  is  to  see  the  ruin  of  so  many  good  In 
dians.  What  breaks  my  heart,  is  to  see  Colonel  Steptoe, 
the  zealous  protector  of  Indians,  exposed  to  the  blame 
which  ordinarily  attaches  itself  to  bad  success;  however, 
in  the  eyes  of  reflecting  men,  who  know  his  situation,  his 
retreat  will  do  him  infinite  honore.  It  is  not,  I  think,  the 
first  officer  who  could  thus  have  drawn  himself  out  from 
so  bad  a  situation,  surrounded  by  an  army  of  ferocious 
beasts,  hungry  after  their  prey;  of  Indians  sufficiently 
numerous  to  relieve  each  other,  and  who  had  always  the 
means  to  procure  fresh  horses.  It  appeared  impossible 
that  the  troops  could  escape.  Besides,  the  plan  of  the  In 
dians  was  not  to  give  them  any  rest  until  they  had  crossed 
the  Nez  Perce;  the  Spokane  were  to  be  there  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th  to  relieve  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.  In  a 
position  so  critical,  the  colonel  deceived  the  vigilance  of 
his  enemies,  and  throwing  them  his  provisions  as  an  in 
ducement  to  delay,  he  defeated  their  plan.  He  foresaw 
without  doubt,  that  the  Indians  on  the  one  hand  had  let  him 
take  the  advance,  and  on  the  other  tempted  by  the  booty 
abandoned  the  pursu  t;  so  that  if  the  troops  have  escaped, 
they  owe  it  to  the  sagacity  of  the  Colonel. 

At  the  mission  they  were  on  the  point  of  having  a  tra 
gedy.  Four  Americans  had  arrived  there  with  some  half 
breeds  and  Canadians.  After  my  departure  to  go  to  see  the 
colonel  from  Colville,  they  went  to  the  Flathead  country. 
On  the  evening  of  the  18th  the  news  reached  them  of  the 
battle,  and  of  the  death  of  Jacques,  Zachary  and  Victor. 


Immediately  the  women  commenced  to  cry  that  it  was 
necessary  to  avenge  their  deaths.  Our  two  brothers  got 
wind  of  what  was  passing.  Whilst  Brother  McGeon  ha 
rangued  then  at  his  best  to  bring  them  back  to  humane 
sentiments,  the  good  old  Francois  ran  with  all  his  might 
around  the  marsh,  through  the  water  and  bushed,  to  their 
encampment,  to  inform  them  of  the  danger.  They  im 
mediately  hid  themselves.  The  next  day,  the  19th,  one  of 
them  came  back  to  the  encampment,  saying  that  he  would 
as  soon  die  by  the  hands  of  the  Indians  as  by  starvation 
in  the  woods.  The  half  breeds  saved  him  by  saying  he  was 
not  an  American,  but  a  Dane. 

The  Indians  were  now  ashamed  of  their  conduct.  Adrian, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  most  faithful;  he  came  to  warn  us 
when  there  was  any  new  danger.  The  Indians  told  the  half 
breeds  to  go  and  seek  the  Americans,  who  were  miserable 
n  the  woods.  One  of  the  Indians  opposed  it.  He  since  de 
clared  to  me  that  his  anger  was  not  yet  allayed,  and  that  he 
was  afraid  of  being  carried  away  by  his  passion  to  commit 
some  bad  deed.  In  fact,  the  Americans  who  came  in  the 
evening  were  very  near  being  killed.  Adrian  having  warned 
them  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  we  made  him  come  to  our 
home.  They  are  all  in  safety  now  No  person  has  aided  us 
in  saving  them  more  than  the  Indian  Bonventure.  When  I 
had  set  out,  he  had  gone  to  accompany  them  to  Clark's 
river,  showing  them  a  new  road,  the  ordinary  road  being 
still  impracticable. 

Je  suis  avec  respect,  mon  reverend  per  votretres  humble 
serviteur, 
P.  Joset,  S.J. 


FATHER  JOSET'S  ACCOUNT 


35 


10 


A  Flathead  Version 


One  of  the  most  peculiar  documents  bearing  on  the  Step- 
toe  expedition  is  one  which  found  its  way  into  the  hands  of 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  at  the  time  in  command  of  the  de 
partment  of  Utah,  and  by  him  forwarded  to  army  headquar 
ters.  The  person  to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed  is  not 
known,  but  the  writer  was  Father  A.  Hoecken,  a  Jesuit  mis 
sionary  to  the  Flatheads. 

Taken  in  connection  with  other  documents,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  curious  products  imaginable.  Written  confessedly 
to  convey  information,  it  is  now  known  to  be  so  full  of  error 
of  statement  as  to  convey  misinformation.  For  abrief  period 
the  officers  in  Utah  were  misled,  though  without  and  unfor 
tunate  results  The  letter  affords  a  puzzle,  for  which  at  the 
present  day  there  seems  to  be  no  solution. 

Ostensibly,  Father  Hoecken  undertakes  to  translate  for 
his  correspondent  the  contents  of  an  earlier  letter  written 
by  Father  Joset  describing  the  Steptoe  fight;  in  reality 
Joset  is  garbled,  if  one  may  assume  that  he  would  write  to 
Father  Hoecken  the  same  statements  he  addressed  to  Father 
Congiato.  It  is  incredible  that  Father  Joset  would  commit 
himself  to  writing  in  so  contradictory  a  manner.  Further 
more,  Father  Joset  lived  for  many  years  in  Spokane,  and 
during  an  intercourse  covering  years  was  known  as  a  man 
of  straightforwardness;  and  it  is  not  believed  that  between 
May  24  and  July  27  he  would  have  written  two  letters  on  the 
same  subject  so  varying  in  tone.  It  is  true  that  on  May  27 
he  may  not  have  been  prepared  to  tell  Father  Hoecken  that 
Steptoe  had  not  been  annihilated  before  reaching  the  Snake. 

It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  Father  Joset,  even  writing 
in  French  to  his  fellow  priest,  would  so  spell  proper  names 
that  in  their  translation  by  a  stranger  even  Yakima  would 
become  Yakama  and  Kamiahkin,  Cama  Yaken. 

The  French  scholar  of  today  readily  understands  that  the 
language  of  the  French  Canadian  is,  and  was,  a  patois.  How 
far  the  educated  Jesuit  priests  of  half  a  century  ago  deviated 
from  the  French  to  the  patois  may  not  be  known,  but  in 
some  way  that  "exordum"  of  Father  Joset  became  unrec 
ognizable  in  Father  Hoecken's  translation.  The  French  stu 
dent  of  today  would  translate  "Jamais  encore  depius  que 
je  manie  la  plume,  je  n'a  eu  de  si  mauvaises  nouvelles  a 
communiquet.  Je  descent  en  bas,  pour  savoir  quelles  seront 
les  consequences  de  la  folie  des  sauvages;  puisse  je  effacer 
leur  crime  de  mon  sang,'*  somewhat  as  "Never  since  I 
have  handled  a  pen  have  I  had  so  bad  news  to  communicate. 
I  go  below  to  find  out  what  will  be  the  consequences  of  the 
folly  of  the  savages;  would  that  I  might  efface  their  own 
crime  with  my  own  blood!"  rather  than  "An  unhappy  event 


has  taken  place  which  will  produce  sad  consequences  as  it 
will  be  told  in  all  shapes.  I  hasten  to  inform  you  of  it; 
I  do  not  think  that  anyone  has  seen  the  case  as  nearly  as 
your  servant." 

Still,  much  of  the  body  of  the  letter  is  consonant  with  the 
letter  to  Congiato,  and  it  contains  so  many  additional  ref 
erences  of  an  illuminating  character  as  to  warrant  repro 
duction,  though  the  variations  cannot  be  accounted  for.  The 
Hoecken  letter: 

June  17th,  1858 

Dear  Doctor: 

Your  kind  favor,  dated  "Owen's  ford,"  was  handed  to 
me  a  few  days  ago.  I  am  much  obliged  for  the  interesting 
news  you  communicate  in  it.  I  would  be  glad  if  I  could 
reciprocate  and  give  you  some  good  news  from  below, 
as  I  see  your  intention  is  to  go  down  to  Walla  Walla;  but 
alas!  what  I  can  say  is  of  the  contrary  kind. 

Early  this  spring  (February  17)  I  got  a  letter  from 
B.  H.  Lansdale,  in  which  he  tells  me  that  the  whole  coun 
try  below  the  Flathead  valley  is  liable  to  break  into  open 
hostilities,  and  unsafe  for  a  white  man.  Unhappily  he  has 
foretold  the  truth;  since  that  time  some  white  men  have 
been  killed;  cattle  have  been  stolen  from  the  troops  in 
Whitman's  valley;  which  facts,  with  probably  additional 
ones,  have  induced  Mr.  Owen  and  party  to  retrace  their 
steps,  being  advanced  on  his  route  as  far  as  the  Spokane. 
He  is  now  in  the  vicinity  of  Colville,  where  I  do  not  be 
lieve  him  out  of  danger. 

But  the  most  afflicting  was  still  to  follow.  The  8th  of 
June  I  received  a  letter  from  Rev.  J.  Joset,  dated  Coeur 
d'Alene,  May  24,  the  very  exordium  of  his  letter  made 
me  shudder. 

"Jamais  encore  depuis  que  je  manie  la  plume,  je  n'ai 
eu  de  si  mauvaises  nouvelles  a  communiquer.  Je  descent 
en  bas,  pour  savoir  quellas  seront  les  consequences  de 
la  folie  des  sauvages.  Puisse  je  effacer  leur  crime  de 
mon  sang." 

As  I  believe  the  full  relation  will  be  interesting  to  you, 
I  will  give  you  as  near  translation  of  it  in  my  broken 
English. 

"An  unhappy  event  has  taken  place  at  the  Spokane 
on  the  return  of  Governor  Stephens  from  the  Blackfeet 
country,  it  has  been  a  general  voice  among  the  Indian 
chiefs,  to  ask  that  the  troops  do  not  cross  the  Nez 
Perces  river;  they  seem  to  foresee  that  it  would  be  im- 


37 


possible  to  keep  in  their  people.  Last  winter  a  faithful 
Indian  said  to  me:  "Only  the  sight  of  an  armed  force 
would  be  enough  to  make  all  the  Indians  of  the  country 
take  up  arms." 

When  the  troops  established  themselves  in  the  Yakima 
country,  Cama  Yaken  and  his  party  returned  to  his  band, 
the  Galousses,  and  has  till  now  never  ceased  to  excite  the 
Indians;  and  he  has  particularly  tried  to  gain  over  the 
Coeur  d'Alenes,  who  are  more  prompt  and  are  better 
armed  than  the  fisher  Indians.  Cama  Yakem,  among 
others,  has  worked  at  this  the  whole  winter.  There  is  no 
kind  of  false  rumor  which  has  notbeen  spread  concerning 
Americans  and  missionaries.  The  chief  and  all  who  reflect 
soundly  have  not  been  ensnared,  not  even  open  proselyte 
has  been  made;  but  many  bad  impressions  have  been  made- 
probably  many  suspicions  of  all  those  falsehoods. 

Towards  the  end  of  April  I  undertook  the  route  of  the 
Dalles,  I  proposed  to  inform  Colonel  Steptoe  of  this  fer 
mentation  of  spirits.  At  the  Camache  prairie  I  met  an  ex- 
press  sent  by  the  Coeur  d'Alene  chief,  to  tell  me  to  return 
home,  though  my  young  men  asked  me  to  continue  the 
route  down.  I  did  not  wish  to  reject  entirely  the  advice  of 
the  chief  I  answered  that,  unless  the  chief  came  himself 
to  explain  the  reasons  of  his  probition,  we  would  continue 
down;  that  we  would  wait  three  days  to  give  him  time  to 
come;  in  fact  he  arrived. 

"The  Nez  Perces  and  Galousses,"  he  said,  "were 
amazed  that  we  do  not  want  to  join  them  against  Americans 
they  have  just  stolen  cattle  of  the  troops;  they  have  killed 
two  Americans  of  their  route  to  Colville.  The  Spokanes 
and  Coeur  d'Alenes  have  testified  their  discontentment;  it 
might  happen  that  we  come  to  hostilities  with  them;  all 
kinds  of  rumors  are  afloat— that  a  great  number  of  sol 
diers  are  coming;  a  white  man  has  said  that  this  spring 
the  troops  will  pass  the  Nez  Perces  river  to  destroy  the 
Indians;  another  has  said  that  first  500  would  come  to 
station  themselves  at  Colville;  next,  500  more,  then  500 
more,  till,  seeing  themselves  strong  enough,  they  will 
chase  all  the  Indians  out  of  the  coutry.  The  Palouses  and 
Nez  Perces  have  the  country  full  of  spies;  they  will  do 
you  no  harm,  but  they  will  let  you  return  on  foot,  and  will 
secretly  kill  the  young  men  when  they  go  to  the  horses; 
next  they  will  make  it  to  be  believed  that  the  Americans 
have  killed  them;  then  there  will  remain  no  means  to  keep 
in  our  people." 

Fearing  this,  I  returned  home  Saturday,  the  15th  of  this 
month;  a  new  express  announced  the  troops  near  the  camp 
of  the  Indians,  who  were  digging  roots;  of  course  I  has 
tened  to  run  there;  from  all  parts  Indians  arrived  in  bands; 
I  arrived  Sunday  evening;  the  troops  were  camped  a  few 
miles  further.  The  chief  had  a  great  deal  to  do  to  restrain 
his  people;  the  sight  of  cannon  had  chiefly  enraged  them; 
whilst  Vincent  (the  chief)  sent  his  people  off  one  way,  a 
Galousse  murderer  brought  them  back  another.  As  soon 
as  I  arrived  the  chiefs  met  together;  I  explained  them  the 
principles  of  war;  "Whosoever  kills  by  private  authority 
is  a  murderer;  whosoever  engages  a  battle  without  the 
order  of  the  chief  is  guilty  of  the  evil  which  flows  from  it; 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  chief  to  examine  when  he  has  to  wage 
war  for  his  own  defense. 

I  reminded  them  that  it  was  Sunday,  which  many  might 


have  forgotten.  After  prayers  it  was  announced  that  one  of 
the  slaves  of  Americans  (a  Nez  Perces  Indian  guide  to  the 
troops)  had  just  arrived.  According  to  him,  the  chief  of  the 
soldier's  said: 

"You  Coeur  d'Alenes,  you  have  fair  play;  your  lands, 
your  women  are  ours." 

I  told  our  people  not  to  believe  this;  that  next  morning  I 
would  go  to  see  the  officer  and  learn  his  intentions. 
Ishequitsetias  (Calispee  Indian)  just  tells  me: 

"I  come  from  the  chief  of  the  troops;  whilst  I  was  there 
a  Galousse  told  him  the  black  gown  comes  to  bring  powder 
to  his  people,  and  has  told  them  to  kill  the  Americans." 

It  is  true  that  he  had  said  so.  Colonel  Steptoe  confirmed 
this  to  me  the  next  morning;  in  this  manner  do  the  Ga 
lousses  work  to  sow  discord;  accusing  the  Spokane  and 
Coeur  d*  Alenes  with  the  Americans,  and  vice  versa. 

The  17th  was  of  sorrowful  memory.  As  soon  as  I  could 
get  a  horse  I  went  on;  the  troops  had  moved  and  were  re 
turning.  I  had  to  gallop  a  good  while  before  I  could  over 
take  them.  I  was  determined  to  see  the  officer  on  account 
of  the  calumny  heard  the  day  previous.  Colonel  Steptoe 
received  me  most  politely,  calling  me  by  name  though  he 
had  never  seen  me.  He  told  me  he  was  astonished  to  see 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes  coming  to  him  with  guns 
as  they  had  done;  that  having  received  a  letter  from  Col 
ville,  in  which  the  whites  complained  of  their  difficulties 
with  the  Indians,  he  had  resolved  first  to  examine  in  per 
son,  with  a  small  escort,  the  place;  but  hearing  that  the 
Galousses  were  ill  disposed  he  had  believed  it  necessary 
to  take  a  larger  escort  it  was  far  from  being  sufficient. 

I  explained  to  him  all  I  know  concerning  the  dispositions 
of  the  Indians. 

"If  I  had  known  this,"  he  said,  "I  would  not  have  ven 
tured  so  far  without  first  conferring  with  the  Spokanes  and 
Coeur  d'Alenes.  I  wish  to  have  an  interview  with  the  chief, 
go  to  Colville  and  return  by  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
Yesterday  I  thought  we  were  going  to  fight;  I  am  happy  to 
return  without  bloodshed." 

I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  desire  to  see  the  chiefs;  he 
answered  me  that  his  pack  animals  were  too  wild  to  halt; 
I  told  him  it  was  not  necessary  to  halt.  He  said  then  he 
would  see  them  willingly. 

As  I  returned  to  bring  them  I  found  but  Vincent,  who 
accompanied  me.  The  colonel  spoke  and  satisfied  him. 
Vincent  was  answering,  when  he  was  called  back,  as  the 
Gallousses  were  on  the  point  of  firing.  I  took  leave  of  the 
Colonel  to  go  to  speak  to  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.  They  re 
ceived  the  news  of  the  good  disposition  of  the  colonel  with 
an  evident  joy.  We  were  going  to  start  when  Jean  Giene 
and  Victor  said  they  would  return  directly  home.  Molkopsi, 
furious,  (I  do  not  know  why)  insulted  them  both,  —struck 
them.  One  of  his  relations  asked  him  (as  I  heard  since) 

"What  are  you  doing?  You  are  striking  our  people; 
behold  our  enemies!"  (Pointing  to  the  Americans). 

They  fired  on  the  troops.  Unhappily  I  had  gone  with 
the  two  chiefs,  and  did  not  know  what  was  going  on.  I 
had  reached  my  camping  place  when  the  news  arrived 
of  the  fight.  It  was  too  late  when  I  could  get  a  horse. 
I  was  on  the  road  with  a  bad  horse  when  the  Indian  told 
me  it  was  useless;  that  the  Indians  would  not  listen  to 


38 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


me.  I  have  since  learned  that  the  young  men  fired  a 
good  while  before  the  troops  fired. 

The  numbers  of  the  aggressors  was  insignificant,  till 
Jacques  Zachary,  being  killed,  and  Victor  mortally 
wounded,  the  rage  of  the  Indians  could  not  be  restrained. 
Thirty  Americans,  among  them  three  officers,  fell  on 
the  spot,  the  others  skillfully  withdrew  during  the  night. 
I  believe  that  the  Indians  were  more  than  one  thousand. 
The  plan  was  not  to  leave  them  any  rest  until  the  Nez 
Perces  river.  The  Spokanes  retired  to  return  next 
morning  with  fresh  animals.  The  troop  left  all  their 
horses  and  mules  tied  to  the  camp,  and  concealed  in 
this  manner  their  escape.  At  midnight  the  Indians 
rushed  on  the  camp,  but  found  it  deserted.  They  did  not 
follow  them.  It  is  uncertain  what  has  happened  at  the 
Nez  Perces  river.  I  fear  that  all  have  been  murdered. 

In  the  morning  I  stopped  a  moment  to  bury  Zachary. 
I  have  hastened  to  leave  this  place  of  horror.  Vincent 
arrived.  I  asked  him  what  provocation  they  had  received. 

"None,  all  the  fault  is  on  our  side." 

"You  are  the  murderes  of  your  own  people,  not  the 
Americans." 

"It  is  true.  I  would  rather  die  as  the  Americans  as 
our  people  are  dead.  I  had  no  intention  to  fight,  but  at 
seeing  the  corpse  of  my  brother-in-law  I  lost  my  head. 
What  will  be  the  consequences?  If  we  are  pardoned,  we 
will  faithfully  restore  all  that  has  been  taken;  if  not,  we 
will  remain  home,  and  if  we  are  attacked  we  will  defend 
ourselves  to  the  last,  and  when  we  are  all  killed  the 
Americans  will  have  our  land.  Fools  that  we  are,  we 
always  doubted  the  truth  of  what  our  Father  told  us; 
now  we  have  seen  it.  The  Americans  do  not  want  to 
fight  us." 

Besides  what  I  have  related  concerning  the  guides  of  the 
colonel,  I  have  other  reasons  to  believe  they  were  traitors. 
Towards  evening  they  cried  to  our  people. 

"Courage!  The  Americans  can  do  no  more." 

Moreover,  why  instead  of  taking  the  direct  road  to  Col- 
ville  and  to  avoid  thus  the  Indians,  why  were  they  led  to 
make  a  great  detour,  and  brought  just  at  a  place  where 
the  Indians  were  gathered?  And  they  well  knew  that  the 
Indians  would  be  furious. 

Behold  the  entire  relation.  Since  that  nothing  has  come 
to  my  knowledge.  I  wish  you  a  happy  journey  to  a  better 
country  than  this. 

With  respect,  I  am  your  humble  servant, 
A.  Hoecken,  S.J. 

When  the  foregoing  letter  reached  General  Johnston  at 
Camp  Floyd  Utah,  it  was  regarded  as  of  the  greatest  value 
as  a  piece  of  news.  It  was  forwarded  to  the  general  army 
headquarters,  accompanied  by  a  letter  and  postscript  as 
follows: 

Headquarters  Department  of  Utah 
Camp  Floyd,  U.T.  July  29,  1858 

Major:  I  have,  with  respect  to  this  command,  nothing  of 
importance  to  report,  but  enclose  to  you  a  copy  of  a  letter 
written  by  the  Rev.  A.  Hoecken,  a  Catholic  priest  of  great 
excellence  of  character,  now  residing  among  the  Flathead 
Indians  containing  the  sad  details  of  the  onset  made  by  a 


Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston 


large  body  of  Indians  upon  the  small  command  of  Colonel 
Steptoe.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  whole  of  the  force  has  been 
destroyed;  all  the  officers,  I  suppose,  were  killed  in  the 
first  attack.  News  of  this  disaster  has,  I  presume,  reached 
the  headquarters  of  the  army;  this  letter  is,  however, 
particularly  interesting,  from  containing  reliable  particu 
lars,  which  would  probably  not  be  otherwise  known. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 
A.S.  Johnston, 

Colonel  2d  Cavalry  and  Brevet  Brigadier  Gen. 
United  States  Army,  Commanding 


F.  S.  Porter 


A  FLATHEAD  VERSION 


39 


Major  Irvin  McDowell, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General 

Headquarters   of    the    Army,    West    Point,  New  York 

July  29 

The  California  mail  which  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City 
last  evening  brings  reports,  current  in  Sacramento  12 
days  since,  that  only  thirteen  soldiers,  and  two  officers, 
of  whom  Colonel  Steptoe  was  not  one,  were  killed. 
F.J.  Porter, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General 

It  is  interesting  to  note  from  the  dates  of  the  foregoing  how 
very  slowly  information  was  transmitted  a  half  century  ago, 
when  wilderness  crowned  the  great  west  and  settlements 


were  far  between.  The  attack  on  Steptoe  took  place  on  May  17. 
Father  Josefs  letter  of  May  24  did  not  reach  the  Flathead 
mission  until  June  8th.  Johnston  did  not  receive  Father 
Hoecken's  letter,  though  it  was  written  on  the  17th  of  June 
until  the  last  days  of  July,  and  on  the  same  day  Utah  head 
quarters  received  overland  the  news  which  Sacramento  had 
learned  twelve  days  earlier.  It  was  on  the  14th  day  of  June 
that  General  Clarke  in  San  Francisco,  forwarded  Colonel 
Steptoe's  report  to  headquarters,  and  General  Clarke  had 
heard  the  skeleton  news  on  June  2. 

The  names  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  Irvin  McDowell  and 
Fitz  John  Porter  are  familiar  to  every  school  boy  and  girl, 
as  those  or  prominent  actors  in  the  Civil  War,  but  it  may 
not  be  generally  known  that  a  part  of  their  military  education 
was  received  while  fighting  Mormons  in  Utah  in  1858. 


r 


Major  Irvin  McDowell 


40 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


11 


•      11 


An  Incubus" 


One  of  the  revelations  resulting  from  the  Steptoe  expedition 
was  the  discovery  of  the  astonishingly  strong  arm  equipment 
and  apparently  plenteous  ammunition  supply  possessed  by 
the  hostiles.  The  army  officers  knew  that  for  years  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  traders  had  furnished  the  Indians  with 
musket  and  powder  and  ball.  These  were  naturally  desired 
by  the  Indians,  but  without  them  the  Indians  could  not  bring 
peltries  to  the  trading  posts.  Many  of  the  weapons  were  old, 
which  had  thus  been  furnished  the  natives,  but  on  the  Steptoe 
battlefield  there  were  such  numbers  of  rifles  which  carried 
well  in  the  hands  of  the  attacking  party  that  it  was  patent  that 
the  weapons  were  not  cast-offs. 

No  suspicion  could  rightly  be  directed  by  the  government 
toward  the  "Honorable  Company  of  Adventurers"  or  their 


Dr.  John  McLoughlin 


agents.  To  be  sure,  many  Englishmen  looked  with  favor  upon 
the  Southern  states,  but  that  did  not  mean  that  the  British 
government,  through  one  of  its  corporations,  was  supplying 
antagonists  of  the  government  at  Washington  with  the  muni 
tions  of  war.  Not  many  years  had  passed  since  Lord  Ash- 
burton  and  Daniel  Webster  had  settled  boundary  questions 
amicably  between  the  two  great  nations.  All  must  be  quiet 
along  parallel  49. 

But  the  people  whose  activities  placed  them  in  touch  with 
conditions  along  the  designated  boundary,  knew  that  in  the 
minds  of  many  individuals  there  was  dissatisfaction  with  the 
dividing  line  as  determined  by  the  diplomats.  There  were 
"home  interests"  which  the  pioneers  of  the  zone  affected 
found  disturbed.  With  the  formal  settling  of  the  dispute 
which  had  gone  on  since  the  question  of  title  was  first  raised 
by  the  subjects  of  the  two  nations,  the  actual  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  residents  and  tradesmen  did  not  disappear.  Dr. 
John  McGloughlin  had  been  dismissed,  after  a  lifetime  of 
eminent  service  in  its  behalf  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
His  fault  lay  in  loaning  seeds  to  American  settlers.  In  the 
tenents  of  the  company,  the  act,  and  repetitions  of  it,  consti 
tuted  an  unpardonable  sin. 

But  the  Americans  did  not  take  kindly  to  Dr.  McGlough 
lin.  He  had  been  so  long  a  faithful  servant  of  the  company 
that  they  doubted  his  sincerity  in  asking  to  become  a  cit 
izen  of  the  United  States  and  of  Oregon— many  of  whose 
early  settlers  owed  to  him  and  his  generosity  their  very 
lives  and  those  of  their  families.  He  applied  for  citizen 
ship  because  he  knew  that  that  was  the  only  course  open  to 
him  in  order  to  take  title  to  land  which  he  wished  to  pre 
serve  for  his  family.  The  fact  that  he  was  receiving  pay 
from  the  coffers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — even 
though  it  was  but  the  amount  allowed  a  retired  officer — 
caused  opposition.  Shortly  before  he  died,  in  1857,  he 
called  to  his  bedside  at  Oregon  City,  L.  F.  Grover,  twice 
Oregon's  governor  and  for  one  term  her  United  States  sen 
ator.  To  him  Dr.  McGloughlin  made  final  appeal: 

"I  shall  live  but  a  little  while  longer,  and  this  is  the 
reason  I  sent  for  you:  I  am  an  old  man,  and  just  dying  and 
you  are  a  young  man  and  will  live  many  years  in  this  coun 
try,  and  will  have  something  to  do  with  affairs  here,  As 
for  me,  I  had  better  been  shot"— and  he  brought  it  out 
harshly— "I  might  better  have  been  shot  forty  years  ago, 
than  to  have  lived  here  and  tried  to  bring  up  a  family  and 
an  estate  in  this  government.  I  became  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  in  good  faith.  I  planted  all  I  had  here,  and  the 
government  confiscated  my  property.  Now,  what  I  want  to 


41 


ask  of  you  is  that  you  will  give  your  influence,  after  I  am 
gone,  to  have  this  property  go  to  my  children.  I  have  earned 
it  as  other  settlers  have  earned  theirs,  and  it  ought  to  be 
mine  and  my  heirs'." 

Dr.  McGloughlin  lived  eleven  years  in  Oregon  City.  His 
case,  though  extraordinarily  prominent,  serves  capitally  to 
illustrate  the  strength  of  the  feeling  which  was  so  hard  to  die 
out  along  the  Columbia  even  after  all  controversy  between  the 
two  governments  had  been  settled.  It  was  but  natural  that 
army  officials  in  the  far  Northwest  should  be  responsive  to 
the  suspicion  that  the  alarming  arsenals  of  Palouse,  Spokane 
and  Coeur  d'Alene  had  some  connection  with  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  post  of  Fort  Colville.  The  old  stockade  on  Marcus 
flats,  on  the  Columbia  river  only  a  few  miles  south  of  the 
international  boundary,  was  the  last  vestige  of  British  author 
ity  south  of  the  49th  parallel.  It  had  been  made  so  by  diplo 
matic  agreement.  The  Hudson  Bay  people  were  influential 
enough — pull  enough,  if  you  please — to  obtain  the  insertion  in 
the  treaty  agreements  of  a  concession  by  which  it  could 
continue  to  operate  upon  United  States  soil.  And  it  did  so 
operate  until  1871,  when  it  withdrew  and  left  its  land  and 
buildings  to  the  family  of  McDonald,  long  in  its  service. 

The  old  eagerness  for  trade  was  as  active  in  1858  as  it  had 
been  in  former  years.  The  old  spirit  of  commercialism  with 
the  natives  endured.  Army  officers  knew  of  the  close  relation 
ship  between  the  traders  and  the  missionary  priests.  The 
home  of  the  fathers  of  St.  Francis  Regis  stood  on  the  portage 
carry  between  the  stockade  and  the  Kettle  Falls.  This  prop 
inquity  was  an  aid  to  suspicion  that  both  priest  and  trader 
knew  something  of  the  origin  of  Coeur  d'Alene  and  Spokane 
powder  and  ball.  Investigation,  however,  speedily  withdrew 
the  priests  from  suspicion. 

Colonel  Steptoe  had  officially  avowed  his  belief  that  the 
Indian  ammunition  "was  obtained  either  from  the  Colville 
traders  or  the  Mormons." 

Direct,  though  unofficial,  information,  came  down  from 
Colville  to  Vancouver  in  the  month  of  July  of  contraband 
trade  between  the  Hudson  Bay  post  and  the  Indians.  One  letter 
to  General  Clarke  read: 

"I  met  at  Colville  a  Coeur  d'Alene  chief,  with  some  ten 
others  of  the  same  tribe.  They  came  well  mounted  on  United 
States  horses  and  mules.  They  are  offering  the  mules  for 
sale;  some  were  bought  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  I  told 
the  gentleman  in  charge  that  I  had  no  orders  to  stop  it,  but 
I  did  not  think  it  right  to  furnish  a  market  for  stolen  animals 
to  the  enemy." 

These  animals  were  probably  some  of  those  taken  from 
Fort  Walla  Walla  in  April,  as  reported  by  Colonel  Steptoe, 
by  a  band  of  Palouse.  It  seems  that  they  had  been  trans 
ferred  to  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.  It  is  hardly  possible  that 
animals  bearing  the  U.  S.  brand  would  stray  across  a  wild 
country  250  miles.  Here,  then,  was  foundation  for  alleging 
an  interchange,  not  only  between  the  native  tribes,  but  be 
tween  the  Indians  and  foreigners.  Also,  the  Palouse  under 
stood  business  methods  under  the  circumstances  well 
enough  to  let  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  the  tribes  most  famil 
iar  to  the  traders,  present  the  booty  and  transact  the  bar 
gain. 

A  second  letter  to  General  Clarke  conveyed  the  fol 
lowing  interesting  information: 

"The   Hudson  Bay  Company's  train,  some  two  hundred 


head  of  horses,  starts  in  a  few  days  for  Fort  Hope  for  the 
year's  outfit.  I  think  they  are  to  bring  some  two  thou 
sand  pounds  of  powder,  with  a  proportionable  quantity  of 
ball.  This,  as  a  matter  of  course,  will  find  its  way  into  the 
hostile  camp.  The  trade  in  ammunition  might  be  stopped 
here;  but,  as,  the  gentlemen  in  charge  here  told  me,  we 
could  not  prevent  the  company  trading  at  Fort  Forty  Nine, 
which  is  another  post  thirty  miles  above  Colville." 

It  would  seem  that  the  Hudson  Bay  people  did  not  respect 
the  line  of  demarcation  at  other  points  along  the  49th  par 
allel.  So  frequently  had  been  the  visits  of  hunters  from  over 
the  border  in  the  vicinity  of  Winnipeg,  where  the  Hudson 
Bay  people  maintained  a  trading  post,  into  the  country  of  the 
Red  River  of  the  North,  that  in  1858  the  government  dis 
patched  a  military  expedition  from  Fort  Snelling  to  Pem- 
ina.  That  the  United  States  officials  were  annoyed  by  the 
frequency  of  these  incursions  is  witnessed  by  the  following 
notices  posted  by  that  expedition: 

Camp  at  St.  Joseph's,  Minnesota 
The  undersigned,  the  commanding  officer  of  a  military 
expedition  which  arrived  here  today  from  Fort  Snelling, 
via  Lake  Mini-Waken,  has  the  instructions  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  to  notify  such  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  British  Possessions  as  are  in  the  habit  of  crossing 
the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  (49th  parallel  of  north  latitude)  for  the  purpose 
of  hunting  and  trapping,  &c.,  on  American  soil,  that  s 
of  hunting  and  trapping,&c.,  on  American  soil,  that  such 
depredations  will  no  longer  be  permitted. 

The  undersigned,  accordingly,  hereby  warns  all  such 
persons  not  to  enter  the  territory  of  the  United  States  for 
the  above  mentioned  purposes. 
C.F.  Smith, 

Lt.  Col.  10th  Inf.  and  Bvt.  Col. 
Commanding 

Nearer  to  the  sensibilities  of  the  soldiers  themselves 
came  such  a  bit  of  information  as  Lieutenant  Kip  records 
during  the  period  of  preparation  of  the  Wright  column  to 
enter  the  hostile  country:  "Dr.  Perkins,  who  was  at  Fort 
Colville  (the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  post)  shortly  after 
the  battle  with  Colonel  Steptoe's  command,  in  his  nar 
rative  states:  "The  sword  of  poor  Lieutenant  Gaton  was 
waved  in  my  face  by  the  Indian  who  had  taken  it  form  him 
at  the  time  of  Steptoe's  defeat.  The  saddle  of  Captain  Tay 
lor  was  also  shown  to  me,  covered  with  his  blood.  These 
things  the  Indians  displayed  with  exultation,  saying  that  the 
white  soldiers  were  women  and  could  not  fight,  and  the 
more  that  should  be  sent  into  that  country  the  better  they 
would  like  it,  for  they  would  kill  them  all." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  direct  evidence  of  the  course  of  the 
Colville  traders,  General  Clarke  did  not  delay  or  mulsify. 
James  A.  Graham,  chief  trader  of  the  company,  was  then 
at  Vancouver,  but  a  short  distance  from  Clarke's  headquar 
ters.  To  him  the  American  soldier  addressed  the  following 
spirited  communication,  simple  but  unequivocal: 

Headquarters,  Department  of  the  Pacific 
Fort  Vancouver,  W.  T.,  August  6,  1858 

If  these  things  obtain,  (and  the  authority  on  which  they 


42 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


are  stated  is  reliable,)  they  present  a  state  of  affairs 
which  neither  your  government  nor  mine  has  anticipated. 

It  must  be  that  your  agents  have  violated  the  spirit  of 
your  instructions.  These  could  never  have  permitted  them 
to  purchase  the  property  of  the  United  States  seized  by 
Indians,  nor  to  make  preparations  for  large  sales  of  am 
munition  to  Indians  in  rebellion  against  the  government. 

It  must  be  known  to  you  that  the  privilege  of  trading 
was  guarantied  to  the  company  only  in  articles  that  the 
Indians  had  a  right  to  sell;  that  the  Indians  within  the  bor 
ders  of  the  United  States  make  no  lawful  captures  in  war 
and  that  unlawful  seizures  transfer  no  right  of  property. 

It  must  be  equally  well  known  to  you  that  while  Indians 
are  at  war  with  the  government,  ammunition  is  contra 
band. 

If  your  agents  have,  as  stated,  purchased  from  the  In 
dians  horses  or  other  property,  knowing  it  to  have  been 
seized  by  the  Indians,  they  have  acquired  no  title  thereto 
and  have,  in  addition,  violated  the  obligation  to  respect 
the  laws  of  the  country. 

Neither  Great  Britain  nor  the  United  States  would  per 
mit  citizens  or  corporations  to  supply  arms  and  ammuni 
tion  to  Indians  with  whom  they  were  waging  war,  and  the 
latter  government  cannotbe  supposed  to  have  secured  such 
immunity  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  by  treaty. 

The  trade  of  the  company  in  these  articles  would,  under 
such  circumstances,  be  stopped  in  British  territory,  and 
must  be  stopped  here. 

I  therefore  call  upon  you  to  give  instructions  to  your 
agents,  and  to  enforce  them,  neither  to  purchase  from  the 
Indians  property  of  the  government  or  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States  takenby  them,  nor  to  furnish  them  with  arms 
or  ammunition  during  the  continuance  of  hostilities,  nor 
until  this  prohibition  is  withdrawn. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
N.  S.  Clarke, 

Colonel  6th  Infantry,  Brevet  Brig.  General,  Commanding 
James  A.  Graham 

Chief  Trader  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
In  charge  at  Vancouver,  W.T. 

General  Clarke  had  enclosed  copies  of  the  two  letters 
received  from  Colville,  but  had  withheld  the  names  of  his 
correspondents. 

Chief  Trader  Graham  halted,  and  ruminated,  but  within 
twenty-four  hours  he  placed  his  reply  to  the  communication 
in  General  Clarke's  hand.  He  did  not  confess  any  fault,  he 
did  not  admit  the  charges;  but  he  quickened  as  if  United 
States  guns  were  already  trained  across  Marcu  flats  at  the 
offending  post.  The  communication  was  such  as  might  be 
expected  from  the  type  of  men  high  in  the  confidential  ser 
vice  of  the  great  company  These  men  were  not  merely 
traders  or  barterers-in-chief.  They  were  trained  diplo 
mats,  consuls,  ambassadors,  with  all  the  powers  of  a  mogul 
over  his  retinue.  They  were  capable  of  inifinte  pains,  like 
a  mathemetician;  of  a  smile,  like  Talleyrand;  of  a  dissem 
bling,  like  Machiavelli;  of  a  stubborn  resistance,  like  Wil 
liam  the  Silent;  of  retreating,  like  a  Parthian  general;  of 
courtly  flattery,  like  a  Raleigh.  Of  necessity  they  were  men 
of  astuteness.  Their  business  and  its  exigencies  required 
of  them  a  polyhedral  character.  Mr.  Graham's  letter  was 
as  follows; 


Vancouver,  Washington  Territory, 
August  7,  1858 

Sir:  I  beg  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  communication 
of  6th  instant,  which  I  have  perused  attentively. 

I  regret  that  appearances  should  for  a  moment  place  us 
in  a  false  position,  or  tend  to  break  up  the  friendly  rela 
tions  that  have  ever  existed  between  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  the  military  authorities  of  the  United  States, 
and  would  beg  to  submit  to  your  notice  the  fact  that  no 
preparations  have  been  made  at  Colville  to  make  larger 
sales  of  ammunition  that  previously  to  the  Indians,  as  no 
more  than  the  usual  year's  supply  has  been  ordered,  if 
your  informant  is  correct  in  his  estimate. 

In  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  our  desire  to  do  what  is 
right,  I  promptly  comply  with  your  request  regarding  the 
stopping  the  supply  of  ammunition  to  the  Indians  at  Col 
ville,  and  furthermore  will  instruct  our  agent  at  that  place 
to  discontinue  the  trade  in  that  article  at  the  establishment 
on  the  Pend  d'Oreille  river,  until  he  can  receive  advices 
from  Governor  Douglas,  to  whose  department  that  fort 
properly  belongs. 

The  trade  of  United  States  property  and  of  its  citizens 
taken  in  war  shall  also  be  discontinued,  if  it  has  ever 
been  carried  on,  and  should  any  of  said  property  have  un 
fortunately  fallen  into  our  hands,  I  now  send  instructions 
to  cause  its  surrender,  and  I  feel  confident  your  govern 
ment  will  not  suffer  us  to  sustain  any  loss  therby. 

Accompanying  I  send  you  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  our 
agent  at  Colville  on  this  subject,  which  will,  I  trust,  satisfy 
you  that  we  wish  to  do  what  is  right,  and  live  in  peace  with 
all  men.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  lives  of  our  employees 
and  our  establishment  will  be  seriously  endangered  as 
soon  as  my  instructions  begin  to  be  carried  out,  I  beg  to 
draw  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  our  means  of  defense 
at  Colville  are  almost  useless,  the  fort  being  even  without 
pickets,  and  any  damage  we  may  sustain  in  consequence 
of  your  prohibition  will  be  brought  as  a  claim  by  the  com 
pany  against  your  government. 

As  I  have  no  means  of  forwarding  letters  to  Colville 
during  these  disturbed  times,  and  am  anxious  that  my 
instructions  should  reach  that  place  at  as  early  a  date 
as  possible,  I  should  feel  much  obliged  if  you  permit 
my  dispatch  to  be  forwarded  by  one  of  the  expresses 
which,  I  presume,  you  make  use  of  to  communicate  with 
your  command  in  the  field,  if  not  contrary  to  regulations. 

On  the  4th  instant  I  addressed  Major  Mckall  officially, 
regarding  the  tearing  down  and  removal  of  one  of  our  old 
buildings  at  this  place,  by  order  of  theUn.ted  States  quar 
termaster  of  this  post  To  it  I  have  as  yet  received  no 
reply  and  in  case  it  may  have  been  overlooked,  I  beg  to 
draw  your  attention  to  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant, 

James  A.  Graham, 

Chief  Trader,  Hudson's  Bay  Company 

Colonel  N.  S.  Clarke, 

Brevet  Brigadier  General,  United  States  Army, 

Fort  Vancouver,  W.  T. 


"AN  INCUBUS" 


43 


By  requesting  the  United  States  army  to  deliver  his  mes 
sage  to  the  post  trader  at  Fort  Colville,  Mr.  Graham  divested 
himself  of  all  responsibility  for  whatever  might  transpire 
until  the  actual  arrival  of  the  orders.  The  instructions  given 
by  Mr.  Graham  to  Trader  George  Blenkinsop  were  as  fol 
lows: 

Upon  receipt  of  this  you  will  stop  altogether  the  issue 
of  ammunition  within  American  territory  until  the  prohibi- 
ton  now  enforced  is  withdrawn,  and  suspend  the  trade  in 
that  article  at  the  Pend  O'Reille  Fort  until  advices  shall 
have  reached  you  either  from  Governor  Douglas,  the 
Western  Board  or  myself. 

Should  any  animals  or  other  property  belonging  to  the 
United  States  or  American  citizens,  which  has  been  un 
lawfully  acquired  by  the  Indians,  have  been  unfortunately 
traded  by  you  or  those  under  your  orders  you  will  de 
liver  up  such  animals  or  property  to  the  United  States 
authorities  when  called  upon  to  do  so. 

Hereafter  let  no  trade,  either  of  animals  or  of  other 
property  unlawfully  acquired  by  the  Indians,  be  made  by 
yourself  or  any  of  the  company's  employees  attached  to 
your  district. 

I  shall  communicate  immediately  with  the  Western 
Board  regarding  you  without  loss  of  time  as  to  your  future 
guidance. 

Hoping  that  by  good  management  and  the  exercise  of 
prudence  you  may  avert  the  peril,  you  and  all  at  Col 
ville  will  incur,  by  stopping  the  trade  in  ammunition." 

Lieutenant  John  Mullan  added  to  his  qualities  as  a  sol 
dier  and  an  engineer  the  faculty  of  a  keen  observer  of  events 
and  a  willingness  to  comment  on  them  with  a  fearlessness 
which  now  seems  remarkable  in  a  lieutenant.  Writing  while 
enroute  with  the  victorious  Wright  expedition  later  in  the 
summer,  Mullan  thus  unburdens  himself  on  the  subject  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company: 

While  on  the  road  today  we  were  overtaken  by  an  ex 
press  man  from  Fort  Colville,  bearing  us  the  intelligence 
that  the  Indians  in  that  vicinity  were  committing  acts  of 
depredation,  and  calling  upon  Colonel  Wright  for  protec 
tion.  A  letter  from  Father  Favalli  to  me  set  forth  a  fear 
of  a  general  outbreak  of  the  Indians  among  the  miners  and 
settlers  of  the  valley,  and  represents  an  unpromising  state 
of  affairs  among  the  people  of  that  section.  Now  that  there 
is  great  travel  from  Fort  Colville  to  the  northern  mines 
of  Thompson's  and  Frazer  rivers,  the  Indians  will  doubt 
less  annoy  the  line  of  emigrants  (immigrants)  destined  to 
pour  into  that  region  by  this  route. 

But,  would  it  not  appear  a  little  strange  that  a  foreign 
corporation,  such  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  now  is,  in 
our  midst,  near  the  border  of  the  territory  of  its  own 
government,  should  call  upon  us  for  protection  against 
Indians,  many  of  whom  come  from  Bristish  territory  for 
the  purposes  of  agression  and  plunder? 

This  foreign  corporate  body,  be  it  said,  however,  with 
all  respect  for  its  many  high-toned,  generous  and  chivalric 
bourgeois  and  chief  factors,  exists  in  our  midst  as  an  in 
cubus  upon  our  American  progress  and  advancement;  that 
dries  up  the  founts  of  prosperity  wheresoever  located; 
whose  original  entry  and  present  stay  in  the  country  has 
been  for  lucre's  sake;  I  say,  would  it  not  seem  strange, 
that  as  these  things  could  so  glaringly  exist,  that  we  should 


be  still  further  mortified  by  being  called  upon  for  a  mil 
itary  protection. 

Were  they  our  own  citizens,  did  we  feel  that  their  resi 
dence  in  our  midst  was  to  our  presenter  future  advance 
ment,  then  we  might  unquestionably  act  differently;  for 
then  it  would  not  only  be  our  duty,  but  this  duty  would  be 
cheerfully  and  willingly  performed.  As  pioneers  in  west 
ern  settlement  and  civilization,  they  would  be  entitled  to 
and  would  receive  our  special  protection. 


A  Blockhouse  Similar  to  one  at  Fort  Colville 

This  spirit  of  1858  has  fled  and  gone  in  the  levelling  and 
laundering  processes  of  half  a  century.  The  visitor  to  Marcus 
flats  may  look  over  the  broad  and  placid  bosom  of  the  Co 
lumbia  above  the  point  where  it  dashes  over  the  descents  at 
Kettle  Falls  and  have  heed  for  neither  Indian  nor  Britisher. 
At  the  old  post  trader's  house  he  is  welcomed  by  Donald 
McDonald,  American  born  son  of  a  later  Hudson  Bay  trader 
than  George  Blenkinsop.  The  old  quadrangular  stockade,  once 
the  scene  of  festivities  of  gaily  caparisoned  voyageur  and 
coureur  du  bois,  once  the  storehouse  and  barter  place  of  in 
calculable  furs,  once  the  halting  place  of  brigades  on  their 
way  to  Jasper  House  or  York  Factory,  is  gone,  with  not  a 
vestige  remaining.  Hardly  a  depression  marks  the  lines 
where  sharpened  logs  had  been  sunk  into  the  earth.  Only  one 
of  the  square  blockhouses,  at  the  four  corners,  remains,  a 
monument  to  the  time-defying  qualities  of  tamarack  logs, 
hewed  square. 

On  the  summer's  afternoon  the  sparks  of  a  threshing  en 
gine  slide  off  the  steep  roof  originally  designed  to  foil  the 
attempt  of  fire-brand  arrows  to  find  lodgment.  One  may  hear 
the  rustle  of  the  leaves  in  the  orchard  planted  a  century  ago. 
And,  strange  to  say,  within  that  house  he  may  place  his  hand 
upon  an  old  brass  cannon  which  spoke  Montcalm-French  to 
Wolfe  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham;  one  may  put  his  finger  along 
the  jagged  edge  of  its  muzzle  and  note  the  absence  of  a  seg 
ment  which  was  blown  off  by  an  overcharge  of  American  pow 
der  on  America's  national  birthday,  as  the  later  McDonalds 
were  celebrating  in  true  American  spirit  the  glory  of  their 
American  citizenship— odd  vicissitudes  of  a  piece  of  brass  of 
three  different  centuries  and  of  three  different  peoples. 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


12 


Preparing  to  Strike 


News  of  the  repulse  of  the  Steptoe  column  reached  Walla 
Walla  very  quickly,  perhaps  through  the  agency  of  Indian 
channels  south  of  the  Snake  River,  though  no  note  is  made 
concerning  the  messenger  in  any  records  at  hand.  The  fugi 
tives  reached  the  river  at  10  o'clock  of  the  morning  follow 
ing  their  escape,  tired  and  exhausted.  Indian  guards  were 
posted  and  men  and  animals  enjoyed  a  rest  during  the  day  and 
the  following  night.  They  had  scarcely  turned  their  faces  from 
the  river  and  toward  Walla  Walla  when  they  encountered  Cap 
tain  Frederick  T.  Dent  and  his  company  of  infantry  which  had 
been  travelling  to  their  relief  by  forced  marches. 

Colonel  George  Wright,  in  command  of  the  district  of  the 
Columbia  with  headquaters  at  Fort  Dalles,  next  heard  of  the 
disaster.  It  was  the  2nd  of  June  before,  the  department  com 
mander  at  San  Francisco  was  informed  of  the  facts.  General 
Clarke  at  once  determined  to  remove  his  headquaters  nearer 
the  scene  of  the  coming  conflict.  He  glanced  at  the  situation 
in  his  own  department  and  determined  to  send  north  seven  of 
the  ten  companies  of  the  Third  artillery  then  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  These  troops  had  for  several  months  been  equepped  as 
infantrymen  and  were  in  reality  infantrymen.  The  prospect 
from  the  San  Francisco  headquarters  early  in  June  is  thus 
represented: 

Headquarters,  Department  of  the  Pacific 
San  Francisco,  California,  June  2, 1858 

Sir:  I  go  to  Washington  Territory,  and  have  directed  troops 
to  follow  me;  arriving,  I  shall  primarily  have  in  view  a 
retrieval  of  the  ground  lost  by  Colonel  Steptoe,  by  occu 
pancy  of  the  point  he  suggests,  and  the  recovery  of  the 
howitzers;  and  in  order  to  check  the  hostile  Indians  also, 
to  adopt  such  other  steps  as  exigencies  may  demand. 

Should  a  war  become  general  by  combinations  of  tribes, 
it  will  become  necessary  to  concentrate  a  larger  force  of 
military.  I  suggest,  therefore,  a  movement  of  troops  as 
soon  as  possible  from  Utah,  to  operate  against  whatever 
tribes  may  be  in  hostility. 

In  reference  to  friendly  Indians  and  such  as  may  at  a 
future  day  be  disposed,  I  suggest  authority  be  given  to 
form  such  treaty  stipulations  as  the  nature  of  the  case  or 
cases  may  seem  to  demand.  Doubtless,  meantime,  the  hos- 
tiles  will  have  learned  the  departure  south  of  the  Mormons 
who  have,  I  believe,  instigated  them  andwhonow  abandon 
them.  The  moral  effect  upon  them  of  such  abandonment 
will  probably  dampen  their  ardor,  and  lead  them  to  sober 
reflection  upon  the  consequences  of  their  rashness. 


I  repeat  that  such  chiefs  as  may  be  disposed,  should  be 
invited  to  repair  at  the  expense  of  the  government  to  Wash 
ington.  Doubtless  on  their  return  they  would  make  a  seri 
ous  impression  upon  others  of  their  people  as  to  the  folly 
of  hostility  to  the  United  States. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  S.  Clarke 

Assistant  Adjutant  General 

Such  was  the  general  view  of  a  man  kept  posted  as  fully 
as  possible  through  reports  from  the  affected  distict,  but  who 
was  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  actual  front.  One  may  obtain 
more  detail  from  an  officer  on  the  very  scene.  Colonel  Wright 
had  had  experience  with  the  tribes  now  hostile  as  well  as  with 
others  who  were  friendly.  On  hearing  the  news  of  the  Steptoe 
fight,  he  posted  off  the  following: 

Headquarters,  Fort  Dalles,  0.  T., 
May  26, 1858 

Sir:  By  the  next  steamer  you  will  doubtless  receive  the 
report  of  Brevet  Lieutenant  Steptoe,  recounting  the  un 
fortunate  termination  of  his  northern  expedition.  That  all 
the  Indians  in  that  section  of  country  have  combined  for  a 
general  war,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt.  They  are 
numerous,  active  and  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  topog 
raphy  of  the  country;  hence,  a  large  body  of  troops  will  be 
necessary  if,  as  I  presume,  it  is  designed  to  bring  those 
Indians  under  subjection  and  signally  chastise  them  for 
their  unwarranted  attack  upon  Colonel  Steptoe. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  one  thousand  troops  should  be  sent 
into  that  country  thus  enabling  the  commander  to  pursue 
the  enemy  in  two  or  three  columns. 

The  posts  east  of  the  Cascades  are  small,  and  I  do  not 
think  that  it  would  be  prudent  at  this  moment  to  reduce 
them,  as  there  is  much  agitation  among  the  friendly  In 
dians  in  consequence  of  this  affair  of  Colonel  Steptoe's; 
and  south  of  us,  distant  seventy  miles,  there  is  a  large 
body  of  Indians  on  the  "Warm  Springs*'  reservation;  they 
are  now  perfectly  friendly,  but  should  they  be  tampered 
with  by  the  hostiles  and  no  military  force  at  hand  to  over 
come  them  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  their  course  would  be. 

The  steamboat  which  was  built  to  run  on  the  upper  Col 
umbia  unfortunately  went  over  the  cascades;  this  is  a 
serious  detriment  to  us,  as  well  as  to  the  owners;  were 
she  now  running  above  the  Des  Chutes  her  services  would 
be  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  supplies  at  Walla  Walla 


45 


are  at  this  moment  very  limited.  In  fact,  a  few  days  since 
they  were  entirely  destitute  of  flour;  however,  a  supply  is 
now  on  the  way  to  that  place. 

I  think  that  we  may  now  look  forward  to  a  protracted 
war,  and  it  behooves  us  to  prosecute  it  systematically, 
with  an  ample  supply  of  the  personnel  and  material,  to 
guard  against  a  possibility  of  failure. 

Should  the  difficulties  with  the  Mormons  have  been 
terminated,  (as  is  rumored)  probably  a  force  could  be 
drawn  from  that  country  to  aid  in  the  coming  struggle. 

Lieutenant  Mullan  with  his  party  will  remain  near  here 
until  he  hears  from  Colonel  Steptoe,  but  there  is  no  pro 
bability  that  he  will  be  able  to  construct  the  road  this 
year;  in  fact,  it  is  said  that  this  proposed  opening  of  a  road 
through  the  Indian  country  was  a  primary  couse  of  the 
attack  on  Colonel  Steptoe,  and  had  Lieu  tenant  Mullan  pre 
ceded  Colonel  Steptoe  his  whole  party  would  have  been 
sacrificed. 

Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

G.  Wright, 

Colonel  9th  Infantry,  Commanding. 

Major  W.W.   Mackall,  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  San 
Francisco,  California 

Arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  General  Clarke  designated 
Colonel  Wright  to  take  command  of  the  projected  operations 
and  bade  him  attend  to  the  actual  preparations  for  the  field, 
while  General  Clarke  himself  undertook  the  task  of  collecting 
all  possible  facts  bearing  on  the  territory  about  to  be  entered, 
the  existing  disposition  of  the  Indians  and  the  dozen  and  one 
considerations  necessary  but  not  directly  bearing  upon  the 
details  of  equipping  the  troops,  drilling  them  and  gathering 
quartermaster  and  comissary  supplies. 

At  this  juncture  came  Father  Joset,  with  his  wealth  of  in 
formation  and  suggestion,  based  on  his  priestly  contactwith 
his  elemental  wards.  There  was  some  diplomacy  necessary 
before  the  general  came  to  a  full  and  complete  understanding 
with  the  priest.  Father  Josefs  letter  descriptive  of  the  Step- 
toe  fight,  was  dated  June  27  and  addressed  to  Father  Con- 
giato,  then  at  Salem,  Oregon.  It  did  not  take  long  for  the  gen 
eral  to  be  impressed  with  the  credibility  of  the  black  robed 
priest;  for  on  June  26th,  a  day  earlier  than  the  date  of  the 
Joset  letter,  the  general  delivered  to  the  Jesuit  his  quasi- 
commission  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  state  of  affairs 
among  the  Indians.  The  opening  sentence  indicates  that  oral 
discussion  had  already  passed  between  the  two,  else  the 
general  could  not  have  had  time  in  which  to  formulate  his 
policy  with  reference  to  terms  and  conditions  of  peace. 
Father  Joset  learned  what  were  to  be  "the  consequences  of 
the  folly  of  the  poor  savages,"  and  it  must  have  been  with 
heavy  heart  that  he  travelled  back  to  his  mountain  mission 
to  persuade  the  natives  of  the  inexorable  conditions.  Clarke's 
commission  was  as  follows: 

Headquarters,  Department  of  the  Pacific 
Fort  Vancouver,  W.  T.,  June  25,  1858. 

Sir:-  I  am  persuaded  by  your  statement  and  by  your  assur 
ance  that  the  Coeur  d'Alene  Indians  were  misled  by  the 
misrepresentations  of  Kamiajkin  and  the  Nez  Perces;  that 


by  these  parties  they  were  deceived  as  to  the  objects  of 
the  march  of  Colonel  Steptoe,  and  that  the  attack  on  him 
was  even  then  the  acts  of  a  few  insubordinate  men  of  the 
tribe,  acting  in  disobedience  to  the  orders  of  the  chiefs, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  tribe. 

I  am  also  satisfied  that  the  Coeur  d'Alenesare  repent 
ant,  persuaded  of  their  guilt,  and  ready  to  make  atonement 
and  submission.  Believing  this  to  be  the  case,  and  remem 
bering  that  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  have  untill  this  time  been 
peaceful,  and  belong  to  those  Indians  whose  boast  has  been 
that  they  had  never  dipped  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  the 
whites.  I  have  decided  that  I  will  listen  to  them.  You  may 
say  this  to  the  chiefs: 

Tell  them  I  will  receive  them  here  and  talk  with  them, 
or,  as  they  may  not  be  able  to  travel  through  the  lower 
Indians  with  safety,  I  will  authorize  the  officer  in  command 
of  my  troops  to  talks  with  them.  And  I  will  direct  him  to 
say  to  them: 

"Coeur  d'Alenes,  I  do  not  wish  your  permission  to  send 
troops  through  your  country;  this  is  already  my  right.  I 
will  use  it  when  I  please.  They  will  not  injure  you  or  your 
wives,  and  you  must  not  disturb  them. 

"He  doe,s  not  ask  you  to  permit  the  road  to  the  Missouri 
to  be  made,  UnitedStates  has  this  right,  and  will  make  the 
road  when  it  is  proper.  Parties  working  on  it  must  not  be 
disturbed,  and  whites  travelling  through  your  country  must 
not  be  molested.  All  these  things  must  be  done  by  you  at 
all  times. 

"Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes,  you  have  committed  a 
great  crime.  You  have  attacked  the  troops  who  were 
friendly  with  you,  and  have  plundered  the  government  prop 
erty,  and  for  this  you  must  atone.  You  must  restore  the 
property  you  retain.  You  say  that  you  were  deceived  by  the 
lies  of  the  Nez  Perces,  by  the  lies  of  Kamiahkin.  Well,  I 
am  going  to  make  war  on  these  people.  You  must  drive 
them  out  of  your  country,  and  not  permit  them  to  hide 
there  from  me. 

"You  say  some  of  your  tribe  fired  upon  the  troops  in 
disobedience  of  the  orders  of  their  chiefs,  and  against  the 
wishes  of  your  people.  If  so,  they  must  suffer  for  their 
disobedience,  and  atone  for  the  guilt  into  which  their  bad 
acts  have  brought  their  people.  You  must  give  them  up. 

"If  you  come  and  see  me  and  do  these  things  I  will  grant 
you  peace.  If  you  go  to  my  officer  commanding  the  troops 
and  do  these  things,  I  will  tell  him  to  give  you  peace. 

"I  am  going  to  send  my  troops  into  your  country;  if  you 
do  these  things  they  will  enter  your  country  and  leave  it 
without  doing  you  any  injury;  if  you  do  not,  they  will  treat 
you  as  enemies.  I  will  believe  that  it  was  not  the  lies  of 
the  Nez  Perces  that  excited  and  misled  you,  and  not  the 
rashness  of  a  few  of  the  tribe  that  led  to  the  attack  on  the 
troops,  and  I  will  use  all  my  power  to  punish  you  as  faith 
less  Indians." 

And  now,  sir,  it  only  remains  for  me  to  thank  you  for 
your  efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  to  express  my 
sincere  wishes  for  your  success  in  preserving  a  people 
among  whom  you  have  so  long  been  a  laborer. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Father  Joset,  N'S-  Clark 

Catholic  Priest,  Coeur  d'Alene  Mission. 
Delivered  him  Fort  Vancouver,  June  26,  1858. 


46 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


Such  was  the  ultimatum  given  the  black-robed  ambassa 
dor  from  the  hills.  It  did  not  confer  any  extraordinary  pow 
ers.  The  priest  took  it,  and  joined  Father  Congiato.  Togeth 
er  they  set  out  on  their  weary  tramp  to  the  far  away  moun 
tains. 

General  Clarke  did  not  expect  the  Indians  to  submit.  On 
the  fourth  of  July  he  gave  Colonel  Wright  specific  orders 
about  getting  his  column  into  the  field.  On  the  18th  of  July 
he  sent  troops  to  reinforce  Fort  Simcoe  and  gave  final 
orders  to  Major  Roberts  S.  Garnett,  who  was  to  head  the 
expedition  through  the  Yakima  country,  the  home  valley  of 


OW-HI 

A  Chief  of  the  Yakimas 

the  great  Kamiahkin  and  of  the  notorious  Owhi  and  Qual- 
chen.  He  drew  up  provisional  treaties  which  were  to  be 
taken  by  the  commanders  into  the  field.  He  formulated  an 
agreement  with  the  Nez  Perces,  with  the  special  purpose 
of  including  the  recalcitrant  and  uneasy  ones,  which  he 
sent  to  Colonel  Steptoe  with  instructions  to  negotiate  as 
soon  as  possible.  He  had  his  tilt  with  Chief  Trader  Graham, 
and  had  hardly  settled  down  before  word  came  from  Fathers 
Congiato  and  Joset  touching  the  temper  of  the  Spokane s  and 
Coeur  d'Alenes.  It  was  as  follows: 

Coeur  d'Alene  Mission, 
August  3rd,  1858 

General:  We  reached  this  place  on  the  16th  of  July  and 
immediately  went  about  in  search  of  the  Indians  in  order 
to  discharge  the  mission  we  receivedfromyou.lt  took  us 
over  three  weeks  before  we  were  able  to  see  all  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  and  Spokane  Indians,  as  they  were  scattered 
about  in  small  parties  at  great  distances  from  each  other, 
some  fishing,  others  gathering  roots  or  fruits  and  making 
provisions  for  winter. 

When  we  arrived  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  were  as  yet  under 
great  excitement  and  all  their  conversation  was  about  war 
matters.  We  were  not  a  little  astonished  to  find  them  so 
different  on  this  point  from  what  Rev.  Father  Joset  had 
left  them  when  he  went  down  to  the  Dalles.  They  were 
then,  or  so  seemed  to  be,  very  sorry  at  what  they  had 
done,  and  asked  for  peace.  Not  so  on  our  return..  The  poor 
creatures  spoke  as  boldly  as  ever,  and  manifested  the 


greatest  desire  to  have  another  encounter  with  the  troops. 
Some  of  them  wore  as  yet  the  war  garments,  and  their 
camps  resounded  with  the  war  song  day  and  night.  We  did 
not  know  how  to  account  for  this  great  change.  We  attri 
buted  it  to  the  influence  ofKamaykan,whohas  been  living 
and  still  lives,  among  them. 

But  no  sooner  did  we  begin  to  speak  to  them  of  how 
matters  really  stood,  and  explained  clearly  to  them-first, 
what  the  soldiers  are;  second,  their  peaceful  and  pro- 
tectin  mission;  third  the  difference  which  exists  between 
soldier  and  other  citizens,  or  Americans,  as  they  call 
them;  and,  lastly,  their  number  and  power,  the  many  and 
terrible  means  they  have  at  their  command  in  order  to 
subdue  their  enemies  and  punish  those  who  do  wrong  to 
them,  then  their  boldness  began  to  cool  down  wonderfully. 
They  cast  away  their  war  garments,  and  the  war  song  was 
no  longer  heard.  After  this,  we  read  to  them  the  several 
papers  you  gave  to  us. 

At  first  they  did  not  say  much.  By  little  and  little  they 
began  to  express  their  opinions  on  the  conditions  offered 
to  them,  in  order  to  obtain  the  peace  they  asked  for.  Some 
found  them  impossible  to  be  complied  with,  as  they  have 
no  form  of  government,  and  each  one  is  responsible  to 
himself. 

Indeed,  I  could  not  find  out  that  there  is  among  them 
any  really  constituted  authority  to  punish  the  guilty  or  give 
satisfaction  for  wrongs  inflicted.  The  chiefs  have  no  power 
at  all,  and  the  only  thing  which  distinguishes  them  from  the 
others  is  the  mere  name.  But  they  do  nothing  and  cannot  do 
anything;  and  should  they  dare  to  exercise  any  authority, 
such  as  to  punish  a  guilty  party,  they  run  the  risk  of  being 
killed.  This,  as  far  as  I  know  is  the  case  among  the  Coeur 
d'Alenes. 

Thus,  Vincent,  the  great  chief,  is  at  present  very  much 
disliked,  and  very  badly  spoken  of  by  a  number  of  his  peo 
ple,  because  he  made  proposals  of  peace  to  the  soldiers 
without  first  consulting  the  relations  of  those  who  were 
killed  at  the  last  battle,  to  whom  only,  they  say,  belongs  by 
custom  the  right  of  making  peace  or  declaring  war;  where 
fore,  he  is  now  determined  not  to  say  a  word  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  war  and,  should  his  people  declare  themselves 
for  it,  not  to  take  any  part  in  the  same. 

Others  say  (in  regard  to  the  aforesaid  conditions)  that 
such  is  not  the  Indian  fashion  of  making  peace.  We  make 
peace  with  our  enemies  by  forgiving  each  other  and  by 
making  each  other  mutual  presents. 

Others,  on  the  contrary,  though  not  many,  are  for  war 
to  the  knife. 

Two  things  chiefly  they  find  difficult  to  comply  with  in 
the  conditions  proposed  to  them  for  the  peace;  and  these 
are,  first;  to  restore  the  government  property;  second,  to 
give  up  the  authors  of  the  attack  made  on  the  troops. 

As  to  the  first,  they  have  already  disposed  of  a  great 
many  things.  There  remain  only  some  horses  and  mules, 
about  which  they  have  been  quarreling  a  great  deal  among 
themselves.  Most  of  these  horses  and  mules  have  been 
branded,  and  have  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  those 
who  got  them  last  are  unwilling  to  give  them  up  unless 
paid  for,  as  they  say  they  bought  them.  As  to  the  latter 
condition,  they  are  decidedly  against  itl 

You  have  no  idea,  General,  what  pains  we  took  to  as 
certain  the  feeling  mostly  prevailing  among  the  Indians 


PREPARING  TO  STRIKE 


47 


concerning  the  war.  The  poor  creatures  see  that  they  are 
in  a  bad  scrape,  are  anxious  to  get  out  of  it,  but  cannot 
agree  as  to  the  manner  and  means  to  employed.  As  far  as 
we  could  gather  from  the  speeches  we  heard  of  the  most 
influential  men  among  the  Indians,  and  from  the  many  con 
versations  we  held  with  them  here  is  in  a  few  words,  in 
our  opinion,  how  matters  stand  in  regard  to  the  war: 

By  far  the  greater  majority  dislike  the  war,  and  are 
strongly  against  it;  but  they  show  no  disposition  either  to 
restore  the  government  property  or  to  give  up  the  authors 
of  the  attack  made  on  Colonel  Steptoe's  command;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  should  the  troops  come  up,  it  would  appear 
by  their  talking  that  they  will  not  make  any  resistance,  but 
will  keep  away  and  take  to  the  mountains  in  small  parties 
and  disperse  here  and  there.  It  may  happen  that  some  of 
them  will  dare  to  make  warlike  demonstrations,  but  very 
probably  they  will  find  no  support  or  aid  in  their  ma 
rauding. 

I  say  all  of  this  of  the  Spokane  and  Coeur  d'Alenes.  As 
to  the  Palouses,  the  two  last  mentioned  tribes  say  they 
do  not  care  anything  about.  They  are  regarded  as  the  cause 
of  all  the  trouble  in  which  they  (the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and 
Spokanes)  will  leave  them  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

As  you  will  see  from  the  letters  they  write,  some  of  the 
Spokanes  and  Coeur  d'Alenes  held  a  meeting.  It  took  place 
August  3rd.  There  were  very  few  present  and  most  of  the 
sentiments  they  express  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  prevail 
ing  ones.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  the  Spokane  Garry. 

He  is  strongly  for  peace,  but  he  says  he  is  for  a  general 
peace;  that  is,  that  all  the  nations  which  are  at  war  with 
the  government  and  have  either  murdered  or  plundered 
Americans,  should  be  included  in  it.  He  is  for  a  meeting  of 
all  the  chiefs  of  those  nations.  He  thinks  a  great  deal  of 
good  would  follow  from  it  and  there  be  an  end  put  to  the 
many  murders  committed  by  some  of  the  Indians  upon 
Americans  and  on  miners. 

Since  my  arrival  to  this  mission  I  paid  a  short  visit  to 
Colville.  The  Indians  there  had  become  more  quiet.  From 
what  I  heard  it  would  appear  that,  a  few  young  men  ex- 
cepted,  the  most  of  the  Indians  there  are  for  peace,  and 
should  the  soldiers  go  thither  they  would  encounter  none, 
or  very  little  opposition. 

As  to  the  Flatheads,  Pend  O'reilles,  etc.,  they  are  all 
peaceful.  Those  Indians  seem  greatly  displeased  at  the 
blow  struck  by  the  Spokane  and  Coeur  d'Alenes  against  the 
troops.  It  seems  that  some  of  the  two  last  mentioned 
tribes  sent  a  word  to  Victor,  the  chief  of  the  Pend  O'reille 
urging  him  to  join  them  in  a  war  against  the  Americans, 
and  that  he  answered  that  he  had  no  reason  for  so  doing. 
Alexander,  the  chief  of  the  Pend  O'reille  d'en  haut,  to 
a  similar  proposal  answered:  That  he  not  only  would  not 
join  in  the  war,  but  kill  any  man  who  will  take  refuge  a- 
mong  his  people,  after  having  joined  the  war  party  and 
fought  the  Americans.  He  added  that  last  year  in  a  journey 
he  made  to  the  Dalles,  he  had  seen  and  learned  a  great 
many  things  about  the  soldiers,  their  power  and  their  kind 
ness,  as  well  as  about  the  Americans,  and  was  not  so 
foolish  as  to  plunge  his  country  in  a  war  against  such  a 
people.  Allow  me  here,  General,  to  remark  that  all  this 
confirms  the  truth  of  what  you  told  me  when  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  at  Vancouver,  namely  that  a  great 


deal  of  good  would  follow  by  sending  to  Washington  from 
this  country  a  number  of  the  most  influential  Indians. 
What  Alexander  says  is  true.  I  took  him  last  year  down 
to  the  Dalles  with  me  for  the  very  purpose  of  impressing 
his  mind,  as  far  as  possible,  with  the  greatness  and  power 
of  our  soldiers  and  of  our  country.  When  at  Walla  Walla  I 
requested  Colonel  Steptoe  to  show  Alexander  the  cannons, 
as  the  Colonel  kindly  did  himself,  and  I  know  that  it  made 
a  great  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  chief,  who  related 
afterwards  everything  he  had  seen  to  his  people. 

I  have,  General,  nothing  more  to  say.  We  will  continue 
to  do  everything  in  our  power  in  order  to  open  the  eyes 
of  these  poor  savages  and  prevent  them  from  going  to  war 
Nobody  can  tell  what  they  will  do. 

As  all  communications  between  this  and  the  country 
below  is  broken  and  there  is  no  means  for  sending  down 
letters,  I  send  to  Walla  Walla  one  of  the  Fathers  whom  I 
brought  down  with  me  from  Colville  for  this  purpose.  He 
is  well  acquainted  with  everyting,  and  will  give  every  in 
formation  they  may  wish  at  Walla  Walla. 

Requesting  you,  General,  to  remind  me  to  the  kindness 
of  Major  Mackall,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  General,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

N.  Congiato,  S.J. 
P.S.  Tomorrow  I  leave  for  the  Flatheads. 

As  foreshadowed  in  Father  Congiato's  letter,  the  com 
munications  from  the  Indians  chiefs  expressed  unwillingness 
to  give  up  the  disturbers.  It  is  not  apparent  in  what  form 
these  communications  appeared;  they  are  reproduced  here 
as  they  appear  in  the  printed  documents  of  the  time;  they 
may  have  been  transcriptions  made  by  the  priests. 

The  appearance  of  the  name  of  the  Spokane  chief,  Pohlatkin' 
as  "Saulotken,"  is  an  instance  of  the  difficulty  encountered 
by  those  in  frequent  touch  with  the  Indians  to  catch  their 
vocalization  in  the  same  combination  of  letters.  Pohlatkin  had 
an  ultimatum  of  his  own,  which  he  delivered  to  General 
Clarke  in  this  form: 

The  practice  of  the  Indians  is  different  from  what  you 
think;  when  they  want  to  make  peace,  when  they  want  to 
cease  hostilities,  they  bury  the  dead  and  talk  and  live 
again  on  good  terms.  They  don't  speak  of  more  blood.  I 
speak  sincerely.  I,  Saulotken,  say  let  us  finish  the  war; 
my  language  shall  not  be  twofold;  not,  I  speak  from  the 
heart.  If  you  disapprove  my  words  you  may  dispise  them. 
I  speak  the  truth;  I,  Indian,  I  don't  want  to  fight  you.  You 
are  at  liberty  to  kill  me,  but  I  will  not  deliver  my  neigh 
bors.  If  you  disapprove  my  words  you  may  dispise  them. 
I  speak  the  truth;  I,  Indian,  I  don't  want  to  fight  you.  You 
are  at  liberty  to  kill  me,  but  I  will  not  deliver  my  neigh 
bors.  If  it  should  be  my  practice,  I  would  do  according  to 
it  and  deliver  them.  But  that's  a  practice,  I  would  do  ac 
cording  to  it  but  it  is  not  my  practice,  it  is  of  your  own. 
Those  Indians  who  are  yet  at  peace  are  biting  me  with 
their  words,  and  cause  me  to  get  angry.  Should  they  hold 
their  peace,  my  heart  would  already  be  good  again.  On 
account  of  the  gold,  maybe  there  shall  be  no  end  of  hos 
tilities.  If  you  want  peace,  let  peace  be  made  with  all  In 
dians.  When  you  know  my  words,  if  you  say  well  that's 
finished,  I  will  be  glad  to,  but  my  land  I  will  not  give  up. 


48 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


Until  now  I  used  to  go  to  war  against  the  Blackfeet  and  the 

Crows;  but  now  I  won't  move  from  my  country. 

Saulotken 

P.S.  One  of  my  people  went  of  his  own  accord  to  Walla 

Walla.  Omtachen  is  his  name.  I  would  like  to  know  what 

he  told  you. 

Milkapsi,  the  same  Milkapsi  who  on  the  Steptoe  field  had 
slapped  one  fellow  tribesman  and  struck  another  with  a  whip 
handle,  thus  contributing  to  the  excitablity  of  the  Indians, 
expressed  resentment  at  the  course  of  the  whites.  He  gave 
warning  that  the  Nez  Perce,  Lawyer,  was  persona non  grata 
to  him  and  he  repeated  the  sentiment  that  he  would  remain  in 
the  land  of  his  fathers.  Colonel  Wright  had  occasion  in  the 
following  autumn  to  remind  Milkapsi  of  the  defiance  he  flung, 
but  at  that  later  time  Milkapsi  was  very  anxious  to  get  his 
name  on  the  treaty.  Milkapsi' s  message: 

I  feel  unwilling  to  give  you  up  my  three  brothers,  for 
though  I  fought  I  won't  begin  to  makepeace.  I  want  you  to 
begin  if  you  want  to  make  peace,  come  in  my  country.  I 
don't  believe  there  is  difference  between  us  in  the  hos 
tilities;  if  you  want  to  deceive  me,  we  won't  have  peace;  if 
you  don't  want  to  deceive  me,  I  will  see  you.  If  I  see  you, 
I  will  be  glad.  I  desire  to  see  you;  When  I  see  you  I  don't 
think  it  will  be  difficult  to  make  peace,  to  avoid  more 
bloodshed.  You  killed  three  of  my  relations;  it  weighs 
heavy  on  my  heart;  I  don't  like  you  to  speak  any  of  the 
things  you  have  abandoned.  It  was  by  the  deceit  of  other 
Indians  that  I  have  lost  my  relatives,  and  that  you  lost 
some  of  your  people.  Though  you  think  I  am  poor,  I  don't 
think  so.  If  you  want  to  have  peace,  peace  must  be  made 
with  all  the  Indians  of  the  country.  It  was  not  for  your 
good's  sake  that  I  came  to  hostilities.  As  long  as  I  live,  I 
don't  want  you  to  take  possession  of  my  country.  I  don't 
disbelieve  the  words  you  sent  me,  but  I  don't  set  great 
value  on  the  goods  you  have  abandoned.  If  you  come  further 
than  the  place  where  we  fought  then  I  will  disbelieve  you. 

My  heart  is  made  anew  bad,  for  the  news  I  receive.  Tell 
your  friends,  the  Lawyer's  band,  to  be  quiet;  if  you  come 
with  a  good  mind,  let  none  of  them  be  along;  I  want  to  have 
a  good  talk  with  the  soldiers,  but  I  can't  when  they  are 
along;  I  don't  want  to  hear  any  more  of  their  lies.  Your 
soldiers,  you  have  good  chiefs;  we  have  some  too;  I  hope 
that  on  both  sides  they  will  be  unwilling  of  more  blood 
shed,  and  that  things  will  come  to  a  good  understanding. 
I  have  no  mind  to  deceive  you.  When  I  shall  hear  you,  I 
shall  teil  you  the  truth  and  throw  away  my  bow  and  gun. 
Only  when  you  come  here  and  see  me  in  want,  you  will  be 
kind  to  me,  and  let  me  have  means  to  kill  my  game.  I  wish 
to  hear  of  you  as  soon  as  possible. 

Milkapsi 


Spokane  Garry  took  broader  ground  than  either  of  his  com 
peers.  For  the  sake  of  supporting  his  position  he  goes  into 
history  and  gives  glimpses  of  the  terms  of  the  Stevens  trea 
ties  and  his  view  of  them.  In  very  diplomatic  language,  he 
proposed  an  amendment  to  General  Clarke's  plan  for  peace, 
but  in  Garry's  creed  there  was  no  sanction  for  the  act  of 
giving  up  a  fellow  tribesman  to  the  enemy. 
Garry's  letter: 


You,  General  Clarke,  you  are  my  friend.  I  am  very 
much  sorry  for  the  battle  which  took  place.  I  think  that 
you  have  fought  for  nothing.  The  blood  of  your  soldiers 
and  of  the  Indians  has  been  spilled.  If  there  should  be  a 
just  cause  for  fighting,  I  would  not  regret  it;  though  there 
should  be  killings  on  both  sides,  I  would  not  be  much  sorry 
for  it. 

Now  I  am  at  a  loss  what  to  think  of  it,  for  you  say,  you 
white  people,  this  is  my  country;  you,  American  and  Eng 
lish  claim  the  land,  and  the  Indians  each  on  his  side  of  the 
line  you  have  drawn.  Then  you  make  a  useless  war  with 
the  Indians;  you  cause  trouble  to  the  whites  living  here 
abouts,  and  you  have  nothing  to  gain  from  this  war. 

Now,  I  hear  that  somebody— you,  perhaps,  General 
Clarke  want  to  make  peace.  I  would  be  very  glad  no  enmity 
would  be  left.  I,  Indian,  am  unacquainted  with  your  ways, 
as  you  with  mine.  When  you  meet  me,  we  walk  friendly;  we 
shake  hands.  Two  years  after  you  met  me,  you  American, 
I  heard  words  from  white  people  whence  I  concluded  you 
wanted  to  kill  me  for  my  land. 

I  did  not  believe  it.  Every  year  I  heard  the  same.  Now 
you  arrive,  you  my  friend,  you  Steven,  in  Whitman  Valley; 
you  call  the  Indians  to  that  place,  I  went  there  to  listen  to 
what  would  be  said.  You  had  a  speech,  you  my  friend  Ste 
vens,  to  the  Indians.  You  spoke  for  the  land  of  the  Indians. 
You  told  them  all  what  you  should  pay  for  their  land.  I  was 
much  pleased  when  I  heard  how  much  you  offered;  annual 
money,  houses,  schools,  blacksmiths,  farms,  etc .  And  then 
you  said,  all  the  Cayuses,  Walla  Walla  and  Spokanes 
should  emigrate  to  Lawyer's  country;  and  from  CoMlle 
below  all  Indians  should  go  there  and  stay  to  Camayaken's 
country;  and  by  saying  so  you  broke  the  heart  of  all  In 
dians;  and,  hearing  that,  I  thought  that  you  missed  it. 
Should  you  have  given  the  Indians  time  to  think  on  it,  and 
to  tell  you  what  portion  of  their  lands  they  wanted  to  give, 
it  would  have  been  all  right. 

Then  the  Indians  got  mad  and  begin  to  kill  you  whites.  I 
was  very  sorry  all  the  time.  Then  you  began  to  war  against 
the  Indians.  When  you  began  this  war,  all  the  upper  country 
was  very  quiet.  Then  every  year  we  heard  something  from 
the  lower  Indians.  I  told  the  people  here  about  not  to  lis 
ten  to  such  talk.  The  governor  will  come  up;  you  will  hear 
from  his  own  mouth;  then  believe  it. 

Now,  this  spring  I  heard  of  the  coming  of  Colonel  Step- 
toe.  I  did  my  best  to  persuade  my  people  not  to  shoot  him. 
He  goes  to  Colville,  I  said,  to  speak  to  the  whites  and  to 
the  Indians.  We  will  go  there  and  listen  to  what  he  shall 
say.  They  would  not  listen  to  me,  but  the  boys  shot  at  him; 
I  was  very  sorry. 

When  the  fight  was  over,  I  was  thinking  all  the  time  to 
make  peace  untill  I  was  told  that  Colonel  Steptoe  has  said 
"I  won't  make  peace  now  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokane, 
I  will  shoot  them  (he  said)  and  then,  when  they  shall  be 
very  sorry  I  will  grant  them  peace." 

Hearing  that  I  thought  it  was  useless  for  me  to  try  to 
make  peace;  and  when  I  hear  now  what  you  say,  what  you 
write  here  to  the  Indians,  there  is  one  word  which  won't  do 
Until  now  you  never  came  to  an  understanding  with  these 
Indians  to  let  them  know  your  laws.  You  ask  some  to  be  de 
livered  up.  Poor  Indians  can't  come  to  that.  But  withdraw 
this  one  word,  and  sure  you  will  make  peace.  Then,  calling 


PREPARING  TO  STRIKE 


49 


a  meeting  of  the  chiefs,  you  will  let  them  know  your  law, 
and  the  law  being  known,  all  those  who  shall  continue  to 
misbehave,  red  and  white,  may  be  hung.  The  Indians  will 
have  no  objection  to  that. 

I  am  very  sorry  the  war  has  begun  Like  the  fire  in  a 
dry  prairie,  it  will  spread  all  over  this  country,  until  now 
so  peaceful.  I  hear  already  from  different  parts  rumors  of 
other  Indians  ready  to  take-in.  Make  peace,  then  American 
soldiers  may  go  about;  we  won't  care.  That  is  my  own  pri 
vate  opinion.  Peace  being  made,  it  won't  be  difficult  to 
come  to  a  good  understanding  with  these  Indians.  You,  Gen 
eral  Clarke,  if  you  think  proper  to  withdraw  this  word, 
peace  will  be  easy. 
Please  answer  us,  for  we  want  it. 
Garry. 

These  communications  were  received  by  General  Clarke 
on  the  18th  of  August,  nearly  two  months  after  the  two  priests 
had  started  out  on  their  embassy.  The  intelligence  did  not 
surprise  the  officer,  who  in  acknowledging  their  receipt, 
found  occasion  to  defend  the  harshness  of  the  conditions  by 
reiterating  that  "they  were  called  for  by  the  case,  and  less 
cannot  be  demanded  or  received."  The  general  informs  the 
priests  of  his  collision  with  Chief  Trader  Graham  and  re 
quests  them  to  let  the  facts  become  known  among  the  Indians, 
explaining  that  the  company  had  no  election  in  the  matter  of 
withdrawing  trade.  He  also  urges  the  priests  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  any  ammunition  from  the  missions. 

In  the  meantime  the  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  had  been 


concluded  with  the  Nez  Perces.  The  presence  of  Colonel 
Wright  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  organizing  his  troops  and  putting 
the  finishing  touches  to  his  preparations,  caused  Colonel  Step- 
toe  to  "apprehend,  from  certain  remarks  of  the  Nez  Perces, 
that  they  might  suppose  Colonel  Wright  and  myself  to  enter 
tain  different  sentiments,"  and  the  formal  negotiations  were 
conducted  by  the  Colonel,  rather  than  his  subordinate,  to 
whom,  as  post  commander,  General  Clarke  had  originally 
sent  the  draft  of  conditions. 

The  treaty  was  merely  a  reciprocal  agreement,  neither 
party  agreeing  to  bear  arms  against  the  other,  pledging  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  and  providing  for  a  council 
in  case  of  any  misunderstanding  between  the  tribesmen  and 
the  troops. 

This  act  of  Colonel  Steptoe,  in  turning  over  to  Colonel 
Wright  the  work  of  negotiating  the  treaty,  has  been  inter 
preted  by  some  as  an  act  of  pique  arising  out  of  the  fact  that 
Steptoe  had  not  been  selected  to  head  the  expedition  planned 
to  wipe  out  the  effects  of  his  own  defeat.  Wheather  this  was 
Steptoe's  mental  attitude  or  not  cannot  now  be  determined. 
It  was  but  natural  that  Wright  should  be  selected;  it  was  also 
natural  that  Steptoe  should  have  been  required  to  remain  at 
Fort  Walla  Walla,  where  he  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  Indians  immediately  surrounding.  Steptoe  was  a  major, 
commanding  a  battalion,  though  with  a  brevet  rank  of  the  next 
higher  grade.  Wright  had  successfully  headed  one  expedition; 
he  had  been  regimental  commander  for  three  years,  during 
which  time  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Ninth  infantry;  he  was  at 
the  moment  commander  of  the  troops  in  the  district. 


50 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


13 


I    The  Military  Arm 


Within  six  weeks  of  the  time  Steptoe's  column  was  turned 
back  in  repulse  toward  Fort  Walla  Walla,  the  government  be 
gan  to  bare  its  arm  for  the  spanking  which  was  to  be  adminis 
tered  to  the  recalcitrant  natives.  First  up  from  San  Francisco 
and  across  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  came  the 
steamer  "Columbia,"  with  Companies  A,  C  and  M  of  the 
Third  artillery  and  military  stores,  provisions  and  the  indis- 
pensible  army  mule;  the  other  commands  followed  as  soon  as 
provisions  and  equipment  and  transportation  could  be  avail 
able. 

General  Clarke  had  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  23d, 
and  at  once  ordered  Wright  and  Steptoe  to  report  to  him  for 
a  consultation.  But  the  troops  from  California  were  arriving 
so  quickly  that  they  met  those  officers  enroute between  Van 
couver  and  the  Dalles.  These  officers  and  men  had  come  into 
the  hostile  zone  fully  imbued  with  the  certainty  of  heavy 
fighting.  They  had  just  received  a  new  rifle— the  old  smooth 
bore  arm,  reamed  out  and  rifled  to  accomodate  a  large  cali 
ber  minie  ball. 

It  was  necessary  to  familiarize  the  men  with  this  new  weap 


on.  Furthermore,  the  men  had  been  accustomed  to  garrison 
duty,  and  were  not  used  to  service  in  the  field.  Even  before 
Colonel  Wright  returned  from  Vancouver,  energetic  company 
commanders  had  commenced  the  work  of  getting  their  men 
accustomed  to  the  new  order  of  work.  As  to  this  work  Lieu 
tenant  Kip  on  the  27th  day  of  June  made  this  memorandum: 

"At  nine  in  the  morning,  we  have  dress  parade;  at  9:30 
we  drill  for  an  hour;  at  12  the  men  are  practiced  at  firing 
at  a  mark  and  estimating  distances;  at  5  in  the  evening  we 
have  drill;  and  at  6:30  guard  mounting.  Drilling,  too,  is  a 
very  different  matter  from  what  it  is  at  post  in  time  of 
peace.  Then,  it  is  a  sort  of  pro  forma  business,  in  which 
•  neither  officers  nor  men  take  much  interest;  now,  it  is  in 
vested  with  a  reality,  since  all  are  conscious  that  our  suc 
cess  in  the  field  depends  perhaps  upon  the  state  of  disci 
pline." 

But  the  Dalles  were  too  far  away  from  the  Spokanes  to 
serve  best  the  purposes  of  whipping  the  expedition  into  the 
proper  form,  and  Colonel  Wright  selected  Fort  Walla  Walla 


The  Steamer  Columbia 


51 


as  the  scene  for  perfecting  his  column.  In  transferring  his 
headquarters,  one  company  of  dragoons  and  the  six  companies 
of  artillery,  with  30,000  rations  were  moved.  The  road  was 
well  known,  and  the  length  of  the  day's  march  determined  ac 
cordingly.  On  the  day  of  a  long  march,  reveille  sounded  at 
3  a.m.;  on  others  days  at  5  o'clock.  But  it  took  two  hours  to 
pack  up  and  get  the  train  in  motion.  The  same  precautions 
were  taken,  as  a  schooling  for  the  soldiers,  as  if  the  column 
were  marching  through  an  admittedly  hostile  country. 

The  post  at  Walla  Walla,  already  garrisoned  by  four  com 
panies  of  the  First  dragoons  and  two  of  the  Ninth  infantry, 
could  not  afford  quaters  for  the  newcomers.  Colonel  Wright 
selected  a  good  camping  grounds  about  a  mile  west  on  the 
fort  as  the  dragoon  cantoment  and  assigned  the  artillery  to  a 
point  about  midway  between  the  two.  Here  the  real  prepara 
tions  were  made.  Whatever  the  command  did  not  have  and 
would  require  on  the  expedition  had  to  be  made.  Lt.  White's 
company  was  put  to  work  making  gabions,  because  where  a 
halt  was  to  be  made  on  the  Snake  River  no  wood  available  for 
this  purpose  could  be  found.  Not  a  thing  was  left  to  chance  or 
luck. 

And  at  different  times  the  men  realized  the  grimness  of  the 
outlook  by  the  receipt  of  such  messages  as: 

"The  hostile  Indians  have  made  a  league  among  them 
selves  to  carry  on  this  war  for  five  years.  This  they  be 
lieve  to  be  the  last  struggle  in  which  they  will  have  to  en 
gage,  as  in  that  time  they  can  exterminate  the  whites." 

Inasmuch  as  wagons  might  be  used  as  far  as  the  Snake 
river,  a  part  of  the  column  was  started  out  earlier  to  cut  a 
road  and  commence  the  work  of  fortifying  the  bluff  at  the 
junction  of  the  Tucannon  and  Snake  rivers,  which  had  been  re 
commended  by  Colonel  Step  toe.  This  party  had  a  glimpse  of 
the  possibilities  when  they  found  that  the  Indians  had  burned 
the  grass  in  the  dry,  level  prairies  between  Walla  Walla  and 
their  destination.  While  diligently  at  work  throwing  up  breast 
works  overlooking  the  crossing  of  the  Snake,  they  were  en 
livened  by  the  news  that  since  they  had  left  Walla  Walla,  In 
dian  foray  artists  had  stolen  thirty  six  beef  oxen  from  the 
herd  collected  at  Fort  Walla  Walla.  These  introductions  to 
the  actualities  of  the  campaign  deepened  the  sense  of  serious 
ness  shared  by  the  members  of  the  expeditions'  vanguard. 
"We  had  wholesome  respect  for  those  Indians,"  chronicled 
one  of  them.  And  the  feeling  of  uneasiness  was  not  lessened  in 
the  least  when  a  band  of  Indians  crossed  the  Snake  river  and 
exchanged  shots  with  the  sentinels  of  the  camp  of  the  detach 
ment. 

"As  soon  as  practicable  after  the  first  day  of  August," 
General  Clarke  had  suggested  as  the  date  of  the  expedition's 
departure  from  Walla  Walla.  It  was  not  until  the  14th  that 
Colonel  Wright  felt  that  all  was  prepared.  His  orders,  issued 
on  that  day,  show  the  completeness  with  which  he  had  laid 
his  plans.  They  indicate  the  greatest  caution.  They  are  also 
interesting  as  showing  in  detail  under  what  conditions  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  have  United  States  troops  march  through  the 
valleys  of  the  Walla  Walla,  the  Touchet,  the  Tucanan,  the 
Palouse  and  the  Spokane  only  fifty  years  ago:  The  orders: 

1.  The  residue  of  the  troops  for  the  northern  expedition 
will  march  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  tomorrow,  and  unite 
with  the  advance  at  Snake  River. 


II.  Marching  from  Snake  River  the  order  willbe  as  fol 
lows: 

1.  The  dragoons 

2.  The  mountain  howitzer  company. 

3.  The  battalion  of  artillery  serving  as  infantry. 

4.  The  rifle  battalion  of  9th  infantry. 

5.  Pack  train  of  corps  and  headquarters. 

6.  One  company  of  infantry  as  rear  guard. 

III.  The  mounted  troops  will  not  precede  the  howitzer 
company  more  thanfour  hundred  yards,  and  on  approaching 
canons  or  defiles  where  dragoons  cannot  operate  on  the 
flanks,  they  will  halted  and  rifles  advanced. 

IV.  No  firearms  of  any  description  will  be  discharged, 
either  on  the  march  or  in  camp,  except  in  the  line  of  duty, 
without  the  special  authority  of  the  commanding  officer. 

V.  No  person  except  the  employees  of  the  staff  depart 
ments  and  officer's  servants  will  be  allowed  to  accompany 
troops  or  to  encamp  with  them  without  the  written  consent 
of  the  company's  officer. 

VI.  Habitually  the  guard  will  consist  of  one  company,  and 
mount  at  retreat. 

VII.  It  is  announced  for  general  information  that  a  body  of 
friendly  Nez  Perces  have  been  engaged  to  serve  with  the 
troops.  These  Indians  have  been  equipped  in  soldiers' 
clothing  to  distinquish  them  from  the  hostiles.  Company 
commanders  will  caution  their  men  particulary  in  regard 
to  these  friendly  Indians. 

VIII.  Whether  in  camp  or  on  the  march,  the  companies  will 
parade  with  arms  at  retreat  and  revellie  role  calls  the 
arms  and  ammunition  will  be  inspected.  Themenwill  ha 
bitually  wear  and  sleep  in  their  belts. 

Then  the  gray  haired  colonel,  having  theoretically  marched 
his  column  out  of  Walla  Walla  and  to  ward  the  unknown  country 
sat  down  just  one  month  less  than  forty  years  after  he  had 
first  trod  the  lawns  of  historic  West  Point,  and  summed  up 
the  situation  in  the  following  dispatch  to  General  Clarke: 

I  march  hence  tomorrow  against  the  hostile  Indians  be 
yond  the  Snake  river,  I  have  a  body  of  troops,  both  officers 
and  men,  in  the  highest  order,  and  on  whom  I  feel  that  I 
can  rely  with  perfect  confidence;  yet,  with  all  these  cir 
cumstances  in  my  favor,  I  am  greatly  apprehensive  that 
the  results  of  the  campaign  may  fall  short  of  what  is  ex 
pected  of  me  by  the  general  and  by  the  country. 

From  all  that  I  can  learn,  we  must  not  expect  the  enemy 
to  meet  us  in pitchedbattle  although,  haughty,  insolent  and 
boastful  now,  when  I  approach  he  will  resort  to  guerilla 
warfare,  he  will  lay  waste  the  country  with  fire,  and  en 
deavor  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  embarass  and 
cripple  our  operations.  The  season  is  too  late  for  troops 
to  operate  in  that  country,  the  small  streams  and  ponds 
are  dried  up  and  the  grass  can  easily  be  burnt. 

I  have  had  several  conversations  with  persons  well  ac 
quainted  with  that  country,  and  with  the  Indians.  They  say 
that  the  Indians  will  suffer  us  to  advance,  probably  as  far 
as  the  Spokane,  without  firing  the  grass;  that  they  will  then 
burn  the  entire  country  in  our  rear.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
such  will  be  their  policy,  and  if  they  can  accomplish  it, 
serious  consequences  may  follow. 

With  all  these  difficulties  before  me,  I  shall  advance 
into  their  country  and  if  possible,  chastise  them  severely; 


52 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


and  should  they  burn  all  the  grass  in  my  rear,  we  can  live 
on  our  animals;  and  if  they  die,  we  can  take  our  provisions 
on  our  backs  and  march. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  we  shall  have  some  hardships  to 
undergo;  but  I  shall  advance  cautiously  and  prudently,  and 
try  to  do  all  that  can  be  done  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
without  sacrificing  the  means  of  prosecuting  the  war  an 
other  season,  should  it  be  necessary. 
In  the  meantime,  the  other  expedition  planned  by  General 
Clarke,  that  of  Major  Gar  nett,  had  been  preparing  for  the  war 
with  Fort  Simcoe  as  headquarters.  Like  Wright,  Garnett  had 
been  furnished  with  drafts  of  treaties  and  with  general  in 
structions.  He  was  to  pass  up  the  Yakima  valley  and  over  the 
divide  into  the  Wenatchee.  Specific  orders  were  given  him 
concerning  the  treatment  of  the  Yakumas  who  had  disregarded 
the  terms  of  pacification  two  years  before.  Members  of  this 
tribe  had  attacked  a  party  of  miners  on  the  Wenatchee  in 
June;  the  individual  offenders  must  be  caught,  or  the  entire 
tribe  punished. 

"Arrangement  for  temporary  neutrality  are  of  no  avail," 
wrote  General  Clarke.  "Both  parties  live  in  a  state  of  dis 
trust  and  every  accident  is  likely  to  produce  war.  This  state 
of  things  can  no  longer  be  tolerated;  the  Indians  must  not 
only  give  promise  to  be  peaceable  under  such  regulations  as 
the  government  may  think  proper  to  make  for  them,  but  they 
must  give  in  hostages  that  the  army  may  not  again  be  needed 
to  insure  its  performance.  Kamiahkin  and  Qualchian  cannot 
longer  be  permitted  to  remain  at  large  in  the  country;  they 
must  be  surrendered  or  driven  away,  and  no  accomodation 
must  be  made  with  any  who  will  harbor  them.  Let  all  know 
that  an  asylum  given  to  either  of  these  troublesome  Indians 
will  be  considered  in  future  as  evidence  of  hostile  intention 
on  the  part  of  the  tribe." 
General  Clarke  also  considered  that  the  smaller  expedition 


of  Major  Garnett,  skirting  the  eastern  base  of  the  Cascade 
mountains,  would  tend  to  drive  out  the  Ind  ans,  who  would 
seek  to  join  their  allies  east  of  the  Columbia,  where  they 
would  be  cared  for  by  the  larger  column  of  Colonel  Wright. 
Major  Garnett  encountered  no  large  body  of  Indians  and  no 
battle  was  fought  in  the  campaign.  While  surprising  an  Indian 
camp  in  the  upper  Yakima  valley  at  3  a.m.  of  August  15,  Sec 
ond  Lieutenant  Jesse  K.  Allen,  commanding  the  attacking 
force,  was  killed.  A  large  number  of  cattle  and  horses  were 
captured,  and  seventy  Indians,  among  them  being  three  of  the 
party  which  attacked  the  miners.  These  were  shot  as  per  or 
ders  of  the  general. 

By  the  end  of  August  Major  Garnett  was  on  the  Wenatchee 
river.  Of  the  twenty-five  Indians  wanted  for  the  onslaught  on 
the  miners,  he  reported  ten  as  having  been  executed,  five 
at  large  in  the  Cascade  mountains  and  the  remainder  as 
having  joined  Owhi,  Qualchian  and  Skloom,  who  "are  now 
opposite  Fort  O'Kanagan,  some  distance  back  from  the  river, 
and  on  their  way,  the  Indians  say,  wither  to  the  mountains 
north  of  that  place,  in  the  British  possessions,  or  towards 
the  Blackfoot  country.*' Garnett  was  at  a  loss  to  know  whether 
Colonel  Wright's  operations  were  likely  to  drive  those  In 
dians  back  toward  himself  or  not.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Gar 
nett' s  operations  drove  them  toward  Wright,  through  the  "Big 
Bend"  and  into  the  lower  Spokane  valley. 

Colonel  Wright  arrived  at  the  Snake  river  on  August  18th 
and  found  that  admirable  progress  had  been  made  with  the 
fortification.  It  was  named  Fort  Taylor,  in  honor  of  the 
captain  who  had  fallen  with  Steptoe.  It  was  located  on  the 
bluff  on  the  south  side  of  the  Snake  and  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Tucanon.  The  bluff  across  the  Tucanon  was  named  in 
honor  of  Lieutenant  Gaston,  though  it  was  not  fortified.  In 
digging  for  material  with  which  to  construct  the  earthwork 


Fort  Okanogan 


THE  MILITARY  ARM 


53 


many  Indian  relics  were  exhumed,  for  the  place  had  long 
before  been  an  Indian  burial  ground. 

Lieutenant  Mullan  had  been  attached  to  the  first  division 
of  the  column  and  his  memoir  and  journal  furnish  the  only 
authentic  description  of  the  route  travelled.  In  the  subjoined 
excerpts  from  Mullan,  the  indicated  omissions  relate  to 
details  of  the  weather,  condition  of  forage  and  the  like: 

Having  completed  our  arrangements  by  the  morning  of 
the  7th  of  August  the  first  detachment  of  the  command 
moved  under  Captain  Keyes  for  the  Snake  River,  there  to 
select  a  crossing  and  choose  a  site  for  constructing  a 
field-work  in  order  to  guard  it,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
keep  open  our  communications  with  the  post  of  Walla 
Walla.  We  moved  up  the  valley  along  the  Mill  Creek, 
crossing  it  at  the  ford  at  the  dragoon  encampment,  and  fol 
lowing  it  for  six  miles  on  its  right  bank,  we  turned  to  the 
north,  crossing  a  low  prairie  separating  the  bottom  of  the 
Mill  from  that  of  the  Dry  creek,  and  on  an  excellent  wagon 
road  at  eight  miles  from  the  post  we  reached  our  camp 
upon  Dry  Creek,  finding  good  grass,  wood  and  water,  which 
last  is  not  running  at  this  season  but  stands  in  shaded 
pools  in  the  river  bottom. 

Resuming  our  march  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  up  the 
right  bank  of  Dry  Creek,  we  entered  a  small  prairie 
bottom,  following  it  for  three  miles  to  some  springs  which 
would  afford  good  camping  ground. 

On  our  second  day's  march  from  Walla  Walla,  traveling 
over  a  comparatively  easy  road  for  eight  miles,  we 
reached  the  Kap-pe-ah,  a  small  tributary  to  the  Touchet, 
and  flowing  through  a  pretty  valley.  Following  the  valley 
of  this  stream  and  crossing  it,  we  reached  the  Touchet 
which  we  crossed,  and  upon  which,  two  miles  from  the 
crossing,  we  encamped.  The  valley  of  this  stream  of  great 
fertility  and  is  well  wooded. 

Moving  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  continuing  still  over 
a  rolling  prairie  country  at  a  distance  of  three  miles,  we 
reached  the  small  stream  of  Reed  Creek,  which,  rising  in 
the  prairie  hills,  flows  through  a  flat  prairie  bottom,  and, 
at  this  season,  sinks  into  the  ground;  but  during  the  spring 
flows  into  the  Touchet,  finding  our  teams  quite  heavily 
laden,  and  the  road  needing  work,  we  made  today  only 
eight  miles,  encamping  upon  the  Reed  creek  near  its  head, 
finding  here  good  grass  and  water,  but  only  a  small  quan 
tity  of  fuel,  as  no  timber,  save  for  a  few  small  willows,  is 
found  on  its  border. 

Moving  early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  we  continued 
over  the  rolling  prairie,  gaining  at  a  distance  of  four  miles 
a  high  table  land  whence  we  could  see  the  country  for 
miles  on  either  side  of  the  Snake  River,  which  being  burnt 
over  by  the  Indians,  with  denuded  basaltic  rock  presented 
an  appearance  of  sad  desolation.  Travelling  a  distance  of 
eleven  miles  from  the  Reed  Creek,  we  struck  the  Tou- 
kannon  three  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Snake  River, 
finding  an  excellent  wagon  road.  The  Toukannon  rises  in 
the  prairie  hills,  and,  flowing  west  and  northwest  through 
a  prairie  valley  half  a  mile  wide,  and  bounded  by  prairie 
hills,  discharges  itself  into  the  Snake  river  three  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Palouse. 

Reaching  our  camp  on  the  Toukannon  at  an  early  hour, 
Captain  Keyes  sent  me,  with  a  small  mounted  detachment 
to  proceed  down  the  stream  to  its  mouth,  and  examine  it, 


as  also  the  mouth  of  the  Palouse,  as  to  the  feasibility  of 
the  crossing  of  the  Snake  river  and  the  general  character 
of  the  country,  and  at  the  same  time  ascertain  which 
afforded  the  greatest  advantages  in  the  selectionof  a  site 
for  the  field-work.  Finding  the  crossing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Toukannon  good,  wood  and  grass  in  abundance  on  its  banks, 
my  preference  was  given  to  it,  which  Captain  Keyes  the 
next  day,  upon  a  personal  examination,  confirmed,  and 
which  he  selected  as  the  site  for  "Fort  Taylor",  so  called 
in  honor  of  the  lamented  Captain  Taylor  who  fell  in  Step- 
toe's  battle  of  May  17, 1858. 

The  valley  of  the  Toukannon,  at  its  mouth,  is  half  a  mile 
wide,  andboundedby  the  high  basaltic  bluffs  that  we  named 
"Taylor"  and  "Gaston"  the  one  on  the  west  being  called 
"Taylor".  The  Snake  river  at  the  same  point  is  275  yards 
wide,  very  deep,  rapid  current,  but  the  crossing  is  good. 

With  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Wright  and  Captain  Kirkham, 
with  the  wagon  train,  pack  train  and  the  residue  of  the  sup 
plies,  the  entire  column  became  a  unit,  except  that  Major 
F.O.  Wyse,  with  one  company  of  the  artillery,  was  left  be 
hind  to  garrison  Fort  Taylor  and  defend  the  crossing  in  case 
of  necessity. 

The  column  was  in  camp  nearly  a  week,  making  final  pre 
paration,  arranging  the  ammunition  and  supplies  for  trans 
port  by  packtrain  only,  for  north  of  the  Snake  it  was  imprac 
ticable  to  use  wagons.  Beyond  this  point  only  one  vehicle  was 
taken,  a  light  one  to  which  was  attached  Lieutenant  Mullan' s 
odometer  and  which  carried  his  instruments.  His  chrono- 
menter  which  had  been  carefully  adjusted  and  tested  for 
accuracy,  for  upon  it  depended  the  usefulness  of  whatever 
observations  were  to  be  made,  was  carried  by  two  men, 
alternately,  they  being  detailed  for  this  special  service. One 
of  the  officers  makes  note  of  the  display  of  pleasure  made 
by  Mullan's  Nez  Perce  contingent  with  their  uniforms.  "Like 
all  Indians,"  he  commented,  "they  are  particularly  delighted 
with  their  clothes,  and  no  young  officer,  just  commissioned, 
thinks  as  much  of  his  uniform  as  they  do.  They  insist  indeed 
upon  having  every  minute  portion,  even  to  the  glazed  cap 
covers." 

The  Snake  river  formed  a  natural  line  of  division,  the 
crossing  of  which  would  be  in  effect  considered  by  the  In 
dians  as  a  declaration  of  war.  They  had  so  taken  it  in  the 
case  of  the  Steptoe  command.  The  natives  had  given  warning 
of  second  time  of  their  view.  Some  occurrences  during  the 
time  the  soldiers  were  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tucanon  served 
to  remind  the  troops  of  the  fact.  For  the  troops  to  cross  that 
river,  was  as  clear  a  case  of  casting  the  die  for  war  as  was 
the  historic  act  of  a  Roman  general  nearly  two  thousand  years 
ago  before  in  traversing  another  river  in  another  hemisphere. 
And  every  man  in  the  column  understood  the  significance, 
from  the  commander  down.  Glance  now,  at  the  orders  given 
Colonel  Wright  by  General  Clarke,  which  were  the  warrant 
for  his  act  of  intentional  hostility  and  which  set  forth  the 
work  he  was  expected  to  accomplish  in  the  unknown  land  to 
the  north  of  the  river: 

The  general's  orders  are  as  follows:  That  you  proceed 
to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  assume  command  of  the  troops;  leave 
Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe  a  sufficient  garrison  to 
secure  practicable  after  the  first  day  of  August. 

The  objects  to  be  attained  are  the  punishment  and  sub 
mission  of  the  Indians  engaged  in  the  late  attack  upon  the 


54 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe,  and  the  surrender 
of  the  Palouse  Indians  who  murdered  two  miners  in  April 
last;  these  men  are  known  to  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe. 

I  enclose  your  memoranda  (marked  A)  of  a  conversa 
tion  had  by  the  commanding  general  with  Father  Joset,  a 
Catholic  priest,  and  a  copy  (  marked  B)  of  a  letter  given 
to  him  by  the  general. 

From  these  you  will  find,  first,  that  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 
and  the  Spokanes  claim  that  they  were  misled  by  the  Nez 
Perce,  and  finally  engaged  through  the  insubordination  of 
some  of  the  tribe.  Second,  the  conditions  on  which  the  gen 
eral  has  authorized  Father  Joset  to  tell  them  that  their 
submission  will  be  received. 

The  Catholic  Priests  Congiato  and  Joset  are  on  their  to 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes  as  may  come  to  visit  the 
general  of  either  of  the  officers  in  command  of  the  col 
umns  or  posts  intermediate. 

Should  any  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  or  Spok 
anes  visit  you  for  the  purpose  of  offering  the  submission  of 
their  people,  the  paper  above  referred  to  and  marked  B 
will  be  your  guide  in  fixing  the  terms.  The  delivery  of  the 
insubordinate  Indians  who  fired  on  the  troops,  and  the  res 
toration  of  the  howitzers  abandoned  by  the  troops,  must  be 
conditions  precedent  to  any  accommodation;  these  condi 
tions  complied  with  you  areauthorized  to  make  such  reduc 
tion  as  may  seem  to  you  proper  on  the  spot. 

I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  terms  of  a  treaty  that  the  com 
manding  general  has  directed  Colonel  Steptoe  to  make  if 
possible  with  the  friendly  Nez  Perces;  a  similar  one 
should  be  attempted  with  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  the  Spok 
anes  after  their  submission  whether  such  a  treaty  be  or 
not  be  made,  hostages  must  be  taken  for  their  future  good 
conduct. 


If  the  offenders  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  the  Spokanes 
are  delivered  up  to  you,  you  are  directed  to  guard  them 
securely  and  keep  them  safely  until  you  return  to  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  where  they  will  be  placed  in  the  charge  of  the 
commanding  officer  of  that  post,  with  these  orders  of  the 
general  for  their  safety  and  security. 

The  general  gives  you  distinctly  to  understand  that  the 
arrangements  contemplated  with  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and 
Spokanes  are  not  to  embarass  your  march  for  one  moment; 
they  will  know  the  terms  on  which  they  can  obtain  peace; 
if  they  meet  you  and  accept  them,  well;  if  not,  you  must 
make  them  as  well  as  the  hostile  Nez  Perces  and  Palouse, 
vigorous  war;  make  their  punishment  severe,  and  perser- 
vere  until  the  submission  is  complete. 

Your  column  must  enter  the  Coeur  d'Alenes'  country, 
whether  this  be  done  by  force  or  peaceably,  after  the  sub 
mission  of  these  people;  they  must  feel  that  in  peace  or 
war  it  is  open  to  the  army. 

If  it  can  be  done  without  the  sacrifice  of  more  impor 
tant  objects  of  the  campaign,  visit  the  Colville  miners. 

You  are  authorized  to  employ  as  many  of  the  friendly 
Nez  Perces  as  you  think  judicious.  Clothing  of  the  old 
pattern  and  condemned,  has  been  sent  to  Walla-Walla  for 
issue  to  the  Indians,  this  you  can  use,  and  you  are  also  au 
thorized  to  supply  them  with  arms  and  ammunition  for  the 
campaign. 

Your  intention  to  declare  martial  law  and  to  forbid 
whites  to  enter  the  Indians  country  as  soon  as  you  cross 
the  Snake  River,  has  been  made  known  to  the  commanding 
general;  the  absolute  necessity  to  which  such  an  act  must 
appeal  for  its  justification,  is  not  apparent,  and  the  general 
forbids  it. 

The   Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  the  right  of  entry, 


Fort  Colville 


THE  MILITARY  ARM 


55 


guaranteed  by  treaty  and  this  must  not  be  denied  on  the 
mere  suspicion  that  some  of  its  employees  are  ill-disposed 
and  our  own  citizens  from  whom  no  danger  is  to  be  ap 
prehended,  must  not  be  injured  in  their  interests. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant' 
W.W.  Mackall 
Assistant  Adjutant  General 

Something  of  the  sinister  aspect  of  the  situation  confronting 
the  members  of  the  expedition  may  be  gained  from  the  fol 
lowing  dispatch  sent  back  to  Vancouver  on  the  19th  of  August 
by  their  commander  as  he  planned  to  transport  his  column 
into  the  forbidden  country. 

Camp  on  Snake  River,  at  mouth  of  Tukcannon, 
August  19th,  1858 

I  reached  this  point  yesterday,  and  Captain  Kirkham, 
with  the  pack  train  and  residue  of  the  supplies,  arrived 
this  morning.  The  field  work  at  this  place  is  progressing 
rapidly,  and  will  be  ready  for  occupation  within  four  days. 
On  my  march  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  the  weather  was  in 
tensely  hot,  and  the  dust  suffocating;  the  footmen  suffered 
severely.  The  grass,  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  way 
from  the  Touchet,  has  been  destroyed  by  fire,  but  at  this 


point  and  for  miles  up  the  Tucannon,  we  have  had  an  abun 
dance  of  grass,  wood  and  water. 

Fort  Taylor  is  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Snake  River,  which 
is  about  two  hundred  and  seventy  five  yards  wide.  I  appre 
hend  no  serious  difficulty  in  making  the  passage  our  mili 
tary  can  cover  the  landing  should  there  by  any  attempt 
made  to  oppose  us.  From  the  best  information  that  can  be 
obtained,  the  Indians  are  in  considerable  force,  both  on 
the  Palouse  and  some  five  days'  march  further  north. 
What  their  designs  are,  I  cannot  say.  The  friendly  Indians 
say  that  they  will  fight,  but  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  they  will  re  tire  as  we  advance,  and  burn  all  the  grass. 

For  several  days  past  a  large  portion  of  the  country  to 
the  north  of  us  has  been  enveloped  in  flames.  Possibly  we 
may  find  sufficient  grass  left  to  subsist  our  animals. 
Should  it  prove  otherwise,  it  would  be  worse  than  madness 
to  plunge  into  that  barren  waste,  the  inevitable  result  of 
which  must  be  the  sacrifice  of  men  and  animals. 

I  hope  that  our  anticipations  may  not  be  realized.  It  will 
be  mortifying,  after  all  our  preparations,  to  fail  in  accom 
plishing  the  objects  of  the  expedition;  but  we  cannot  con 
tend  against  the  elements.  We  have  a  lake  of  fire  before 
us,  but  no  human  efforts  will  be  spared  to  overcome  all 
obstacles.  I  hope  to  march  from  the  Snake  river  on  the 
25th. 


56 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


14 


Across  the  Snake 


Owing  to  a  severe  wind  storm  which  tossed  the  waters  of 
the  broad  river  into  such  a  state  of  turbulency  that  it  was  not 
practicable  to  attempt  to  effect  a  crossing,  the  troops  did  not 
reach  the  north  side  of  the  Snake  River  until  late  in  the  after 
noon  of  the  26th. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  today  one  is  unable  to  state  with 
accuracy  the  definite  number  of  men  in  Colonel  Wright's  com 
mand.  The  commander  himself  should  know.  But  so  should 
Lieutenant  Kip,  who  in  the  folio  wing  winter  wrote  his  journal 
from  his  personal  observations  and  from  the  records. 

Colonel  Wright  thus  describes  his  command:  "Five  hun 
dred  and  seventy  regulars,  thirty  friendly  Nez  Perces,  one 
hundred  employees,  eight  hundred  animals  of  all  kinds,  with 
subsistence  for  thirty  eight  days." 

Lieutenant  Kip  records:  "Our  transportation  consists  of 
six  mules  to  a  company  and  a  mule  to  each  officer,  besides 
the  325  mules  which  the  quarter  master  has  in  his  train.  Our 
entire  train,  therefore,  consists  of  about  400  mules.  Baggage 
wagons  cannot  go  beyond  the  Snake  river.  We  attempt  to  take 
only  one  light  vehicle,  which  Lieutenant  Mullan  needs  for  his 
instruments.  Now  as  to  our  fighting  force:  The  dragoons  num 
ber  190,  the  artillery  400,  the  infantry  (as  rifle  brigade)  90. 
Total,  about  680  soldiers,  besides  about  200  attaches  as 
packers,  wagon  masters,  herders,  etc.  Then  we  have  30  Nez 
Perces  and  three  chiefs  to  ac  as  scouts  and  guides. 

Attention  is  called  to  these  varying  accounts  of  the  same 
subject  by  those  supposed  to  be  in  a  position  to  make  authen 
tic  statements,  not  because  the  matter  is  of  importance,  but 
because  a  very  apt  illustration  is  afforded  of  the  extreme 
difficulty  which  confronts  him  who  would  compile  with  exact 
ness  from  sources  only  fifty  years  distant.  It  is  not  sur 
prising  that  participants  in  the  campaign,  writing  from  mem 
ory  after  a  lapse  of  half  a  century,  should  fail  to  concur  as 
to  details  of  their  experiences;  but  it  seems  almost  inex 
plicable  that  two  officers  writing  simultaneously  touching  a 
contemporaneous  fact  should  differ  so  widely  concerning  the 
number  of  men  in  a  column. 

The  officers  of  the  command,  besides  Colonel  Wright,  were 
Lieutenant  Philip  A.  Owen,  Wright's  son-in-law,  acting  assis 
tant  adjutant  general;  Captain  Ralph  H.  Kirkham,  quarter 
master  and  comissary;  Assistant  Surgeons,  John  F.Randolph 
and  James  F.  Hammond. 

First  dragoons,  Major  William  N.  Grier  commanding- 
Major  Grier  and  company  1,  Lieutenant  Henry  B.  Davidson 
and  Company  E,  Lieutenant  William  D.  Fender  and  company 
C,  and  Lieutenant  David  McGregg  and  company  H. 

Third  artillery,  Captain  Erasmus  D.  Keyes  commanding, 


Surgeon  John  F.  Randolph 


Hylan  B.  Lyon 


57 


Lieutenant  Michael  R.  Morgan 

Lieutenant  Lawrence  Kip,  adjutant,  Lieutenants  Roberto. 
Tyler  and  Hylan  B.  Lyon  and  company  A.,  Lieutenant  George 
P.  Ihrio  and  company  B.,  Lieutenant  James  L.  White  and  com 
pany  D,  serving  the  howitzers,  Captain  James  A.  Hardie  and 
Lieutenant  Dunbar  R.  Ransom  and  company  G.,  Captain  Ed 
ward  0.  C.  Ord  and  Lieutenant  Michael  R.  Morgan  and  com 
pany  M. 

Ninth  infantry,  Captain  Frederick  T.  Dent  commanding- 
Captain  Dent  and  Lieutenant  James  C.  Howard  and  company 
B.,  Captain  Charles  S.  Winder  and  Lieutenant  Hugh  B.  Fle 
ming  and  company  E. 

Nez  Perce  contingent— Lieutenant  John  Mullan  Jr.,  also 
acting  as  topographical  engineer. 

Some  of  these  officers,  like  Grier,  Kirkham,  Hardie  and 
Dent,  had  seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war.  Others,  like 
Keyes,  Tyler,  Ihrio,  Hardie,  Ord,  Morgan,  Gibson  and  Dandy, 
were  later  to  render  conspicuous  service  to  the  Union  cause; 
still  others,  like  Davidson,  White,  Pender  and  Winder,  were 
to  fight  under  the  Stars  and  Bars,  'neath  which  Pender  and 
Winder  gave  up  their  lives. 

In  the  column  were  three  companies  of  dragoons  which  had 
suffered  in  May.  Davidson  had  taken  command  of  company 
E,  a  spirited  man,  willing  to  be  revenged  for  the  slaying  of 
his  fellow  Southron,  Gaston.  Pender  was  in  command  of  Cap 
tain  Taylor's  old  company,  C,  while  company  Hwas  still  led 
by  the  intrepid  Gregg.  Captain  Winder  and  Lieutenant  Fleming 
and  their  infantrymen  of  company  E  remembered  Te-Hoto- 
Nim-Me.  Captain  Dent  and  his  men  recalled  their  forced 
march  from  Walla  Walla  to  the  Snake  to  give  support  to  Step- 
toe's  unfortunates.  The  third  artillery,  officers  and  men, 
were  as  fine  soldiers  as  their  fellows.  Of  such  stuff  was  the 
whiplash  composed  which  was  about  to  descend  upon  the  loins 
of  Kamiahkin's  confederacy  and  administer  a  castigation  to 
the  Indians  of  the  upper  Columbia  valley  of  such  a  severity 
that  they  never  again  raised  their  hands  against  the  authority 
of  the  United  States. 


For  three  days  no  Indians  appeared  in  sight  of  the  advan 
cing  troops,  even  the  eagle-eyed  Nez  Perces  being  unable 
to  discern  anything  further  than  signs  that  the  enemy  had  been 
recently  along  the  line  of  march  of  the  cavalcade.  It  is  im 
possible,  except  in  a  general  way,  to  indentifyby  landmarks 
of  today  the  different  stages  and  halting  places  of  the  column 
during  the  first  days  of  its  invasion  of  the  hostile  territory. 
Some  certain  natural  features  of  the  country,  which  have  re 
mained  in  their  original  state  for  the  past  fifty  years,  maybe 
putatively  recognized  by  one  familiar  with  present  day  land 
marks  and  who  has  at  hand  the  description  left  by  Mullan. 

The  expedition  followed  the  old  Colville  trail  until  the  trail 
divided  in  the  country  not  far  north  of  Cow  creek.  The  most 
westerly  of  the  trails  then  led  toward  the  lower  crossing  of 
the  Spokane  river,  where  the  La  Pray  bridge  now  is;  and 
other  bore  to  the  east  and  led  toward  the  ford  on  the  upper 
Spokane  where  Spokane  Bridge  now  is.  But  midway  between 
the  two  lay  another  way  which  was  sometimes  used  by  the 
Indians  who  were  travelling  northward  in  the  direction  of  Col 
ville  but  who,  for  one  consideration  or  another  desired  to 
reach  the  river  more  quickly  than  if  they  followed  the 
generally  used  route  to  the  lower  crossing.  It  was  over  this 
little  used  way  that  Colonel  Wright  travelled  after  having 
decided  on  the  29th  not  to  take  the  direct  route  to  Colville. 
The  march  from  the  Snake  river  up  to  the  morning  of  the 
30th  is  thus  described  by  Mullan,  irrelevant  sentences  being 
omitted: 

All  arrangements  having  been  made  and  perfectedby  the 
morning  of  the  25th  of  August,  Colonel  Wright  moved  his 
command  across  the  Snake  river  without  loss  or  accident, 
the  crossing  taking  place  under  the  personal  supervision 
of  Captain  Kirkham,  which  occupied  the  greater  portion  of 
the  25th  and  26th,  when,  taking  up  our  march  on  the  27th, 
we  followed  down  the  right  bank  of  the  Snake  River  till, 
reaching  the  mouth  of  a  canyon  and  crossing  it,  we  began 
the  ascent  of  the  high  bluffs  which  here  formed  the  south 
ern  edge  of  the  table-land  lying  between  the  Snake  and 
Palouse  rivers.  By  travelling  a  quarter  of  a  mile  towards 
the  east,  we  were  enabled  to  cross  this  canyon  quite  eas 
ily,  and  thus  once  more  gain  the  table-land,  which  gave  us 
a  good  road  for  thirteen  miles,  when  we  came  once  more 
in  sight  of  the  Palouse,  which,  from  its  mouth  to  within 
two  miles  of  where  we  struck  it,  was  to  our  left  and  from 
one  to  two  and  a  half  miles  distant,  and  flowing  through  a 
black,  broken,  columnar  basaltic  dalle,  or  canyon.  To  the 
west  of  this  canyon  of  the  Palouse  was  a  second  and 
equally  large  one  known  as  the  canyon  of  the  Cheranno,  up 
which  passes  another  trail,  leading  to  Fort  Colville,  and 
which  was  followed  by  Captain  McClollan,  United  States 
Engineers,  in  1858,  returning  to  Fort  Dalles.  This  stream 
as  represented  by  him,  drains  a  lake  which  the  Indians 
call  Sil-kat-koom(?)  and  which  joins  the  Palouse  nine  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  latter.  It  passes  through  the  same 
black,  dreary  region  that  characterizes  the  Palouse  near 
its  mouth.  Having  travelled  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles, 
we  again  came  in  view  of  the  Palouse  proper,  which  be 
fore,  although  distinctly  marked  by  its  canyon,  still  could 
not  otherwise  be  seen. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  August  we  left  the  Palouse 
and  moving  northward  across  its  valley  in  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  reached  the  valley  of  the  Cow  Creek,  up  which  we 


58 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


travelled  for  six  miles,  encamping  at  the  end  of  this  dis 
tance  on  its  left  bank. 

Resuming  our  march  on  the  morning  of  the  29th  of 
August,  over  the  hills  to  the  east  of  camp,  in  one  and  a 
quarter  miles  we  reached  again  the  high  table-land,  where 
we  met  the  old  wagon  tracks  of  Gibson's  train,  made  in 
1854,  which  we  followed  for  six  miles,  reaching  a  small 
spring  flowing  from  the  basaltic  rocks  along  the  side  of 
the  hills,  which  here  forms  a  basin  shaped  depression, 
lined  on  either  side  by  basaltic  rocks. 

Springs  of  water  occur  along  the  line  at  six,  thirteen  and 
nineteen  miles  from  Cow  creek;  a  number  of  small  lakes 
are  also  passed  along  the  road.  Our  camp  being  on  one  of 
these  at  a  small  grove  of  aspen  trees,  received  the  name 
of  the  "aspen  camp".  Our  distance  traveleed  was  19.8 
miles,  good  road,  with  excellent  grass,  fuel  and  water  at 
night.  No  hostile  Indians  in  sight  during  the  day. 

"The  country  presented  a  forbidding  aspect,"  wrote 
Colonel  Wright  with  reference  to  his  journey  thus  far  com 
pleted.  Such  a  statement  is  surprising  to  those  who  know 
the  wealth  of  wheat  produced  by  the  farms  which  cover 
Whitman  county  hills  at  the  present  time.  But  in  1858 
the  country  was  raw  and  wild.  The  season  of  the  year  when 
the  Wright  expedition  passed  among  the  hills  of  the  Palouse 
was  the  late  summer,  when  the  native  grasses  were  dry, 
but  a  more  desolate  appearance  than  naturally  presented 
in  August  greeted  the  soldiers.  The  Indians  had  burned  the 
grass,  hoping  thus  to  hamper  the  progress  of  the  invaders. 
It  is  true  also  that  the  members  of  the  expedition  passed 
generally  through  the  coulees  and  along  the  water  courses, 
from  which  the  real  possibilities  of  the  country  could  not 
be  viewed.  And,  it  must  be  remembered,  Colonel  Wright 
was  not  conducting  an  agricultural  colony  on  a  tour  of 
land  inspection. 

On  the  30th  of  August,  soon  after  resuming  the  march, 
the  troops  discovered  small  parties  of  Indians  on  the  hills 
to  the  east.  When  the  column  encamped  at  5  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  enemy  drew  near  enough  to  exchange  shots 
with  the  sentinels  of  the  army.  The  officers  of  the  com 
mand  divined  that  the  main  body  of  Indians  must  be  in  the 
vicinity,  but  the  scouts  were  unable  to  suggest  any  reason 
able  gathering  place.  The  march  of  the  30th and  31st  is  thus 
described  by  Mullam 

Leaving  the  aspen  camp  early  on  the  morning  of  the  30th 
the  trains  passed  over  the  bed  of  a  small  lake  now  dry,  and 
travelling  eastward  for  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  struck  the 
old  wagon  trail  made  in  1855  by  the  late  Indian  agent  Bolen 
This  we  followed  for  six  miles  to  a  spring,  whence  com 
mence  a  basin  some  eight  miles  broad  and  limited  on  ei 
ther  side  by  high  rolling prarie  hills  Inplaces  it  is  some 
what  rocky,  but  still  practicable  for  wagons. 

Halting  here  to  rest  our  train,  we  moved  on  for  six  and 
a  half  miles  to  a  number  of  small  springs,  thence  our  road 
became  somewhat  more  rocky  and  difficulty.  In  three 
miles  more  we  reached  a  singular  formation  of  basalt, 
which  formed  a  defile  at  the  trail  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide 
and  rising  fifty  feet  above  us,  and  broken  off  at  different 
points,  the  whole  formation  looked  not  unlike  the  Giant's 
Causeway.  Leaving  this  defile,  we  emerged  into  a  broad, 
beautiful  prairie,  in  which  at  many  points  were  brushwood, 
indicating  the  presence  of  water. 


Crossing  this  prairie,  which  extended  far  to  the  east 
and  west,  we  descended  into  a  lower  and  still  more  rocky 
basin,  through  which  we  travelled  four  miles,  camping  at 
a  small  lake  surrounded  by  brush  and  bushes.  On  the 
march  we  passed  a  small,  deep  lake,  along  the  edges  of 
which  was  growing  a  wild  par  snip,  from  the  eating  of  which 
two  of  our  men  died.  Our  camp  afforded  us  good  grass, 
wood  and  water,  but  in  a  military  point  of  view  it  placed 
us  at  great  disadvantage.  But  necessity  compelled  us  to 
halt  here,  as  we  could  tell  nothing  of  the  character  of  the 
country  in  advance  of  us;  and  no  better  place  had  been 
reached  on  the  march,  and  having  travelled  eighteen  miles, 
we  halted  and  encamped. 

We  had  now  entered  the  pine  region  which  marks  the 
northern  portion  of  the  Great  Spokane  Plain,  or  plateau. 
The  highest  point  of  this  plateau  is  about  twenty-five  miles 
south  of  the  Spokane  River,  lying  along  the  southern  por 
tion  of  the  river  of  that  name. 

Our  march  of  the  31st  of  August  continued  over  the 
same  character  of  formation  in  which  we  had  made  our 
camp,  which  extended  wither  side  to  some  two  miles,  and 
limited  by  lines  of  rolling  prairie  hills.  Some  of  the  small 
canyons  to  our  right  and  left  were  rugged  and  difficult  and 
densely  clad  with  the  pine  and  undergrowth,  that  afforded 
our  enemies  murderous  and  dangerous  ambushes. 

The  character  of  the  country  becoming  somewhat  easier 
at  the  end  of  five  miles,  we  reached  a  broad  deep  lake, 
settled  within  basaltic  wlals  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
feet  high,  which  we  named  the  Walled  Lake.  From  this 
point  our  road  continued  to  ascend  gradually  for  a  mile, 
when  we  reached  the  highest  point  of  the  plateau,  which 
for  some  miles  northward  is  so  generally  level  that  water 
falling  upon  it  is  received  in  a  number  of  small  lakes, 
many  of  which  we  passed  along  the  route.  As  seen  from 
the  summit  of  this  plateau,  the  country  to  the  right  was  a 
rolling  prairie,  with  a  few  pine  trees  scattered  here  and 
there,  while  that  to  the  left  presented  long  skirts  of  tim 
ber,  and  in  places  rocky.  Having  travelled  ten  and  a  half 
miles,  to  the  bed  of  two  small  lakes,  now  quite  dry,  the 
enemy  made  his  appearance  on  the  hills  to  our  east,  not 
so  much  with  the  intention  to  give  us  battle,  as  acting  as 
the  advanced  spies  of  the  main  body,  and  were  sent  out  to 
watch  our  movements,  with  a  view  to  keeping  their  people 
posted. 

Still,  as  they  were  in  considerable  force,  the  precaution 
ary  steps  were  taken  by  the  Colonel  to  give  them  battle, 
but  not  approaching  us  nearer  than  their  lookout  points, 
we  moved  on  through  the  timber,  and  at  12 Vz  miles 
reached  a  small,  open  prarie  spring,  on  the  right  of  the 
trail,  in  a  small  spring,  on  the  right  often  trail  in  a  small 
willow  thicket,  that  afforded  us  a  refreshing  drink.  From 
this  point  we  continued  for  six  miles  through  the  open  pine 
forests,  offeringly  passing  along  the  edges  of  small,  open 
prairies. 

When  leaving  the  pines  we  entered  upon  the  edge  of  a 
gently  rolling  prairie  at  a  small  pond,  where  we  made 
camp  for  the  night.  This  is  the  commencement  of  what 
may  be  called  the  Upper  Spokane  Plain  proper. 

During  the  entire  day  the  hostile  Indians  appeared  on 
the  hills  to  our  right,  and  increasing  in  numbers;  about 
4  p.m.  while  the  friendly  Nez  Perces  were  spying  the 


ACROSS  THE  SNAKE 


59 


country  from  the  hilltops,  they  were  charged  by  the  enemy, 
and  must  have  necessarily  been  overpowered,  had  not  the 
Colonel,  who,  seeing  it,  immediately  dispatched  a  strong 
squadron  of  dragoons,  under  Major  Grier  and  Lieutenant 
Davidson,  to  the  rescue,  who  drove  them  fro  the  field. 

The  march  being  resumed,  the  Indians  again  began  to 
annoy  us  by  attacking  the  rear  of  our  column,  but  prompt 
and  energetic  preparation  being  made  to  receive  them  by 
Captain  Keyes,  then  commanding  the  rear,  by  throwing 
out  flankers  on  either  side,  who  repulsed  them  and  drove 
them  again  from  our  lines.  Our  column  now  moved  quietly 
on  to  our  camp,  where  we  mustered  and  rested  for  the 
night. 

During  the  day  the  grass  was  set  on  fire  at  many  points, 
but  which  did  not  extend  to  our  camp.  On  the  morning  of 
the  1st  of  September  the  enemy  again  appeared  on  the  hills 
increased  force,  and  evidently  from  signs  and  demonstra 
tions,  anxious  to  fight.  The  colonel  determined  to  give  him 
battle,  which  was  done. 

The  camp  of  the  evening  August  31st  marked  the  close  of 
the  121st  mile  travelled  by  the  troops  since  leaving  Fort 
Walla  Walla.  Of  the  occurrences  of  the  day  Colonel  Wright 
has  left  this  record: 

"The  Indians  were  seen  in  small  parties  at  the  distance  of 
two  or  three  miles  on  the  hills,  and  moving  as  yesterday,  with 
their  numbers  gradually  increasing  and  occasioually  ap 
proaching  a  little  nearer;  but  I  did  not  deem  them  worthy  of 
notice,  only  taking  the  precaution  to  halt  frequently  and  close 
up  our  baggage  and  supply  trains  as  compactly  as  possible. 
Our  march  this  day  was  ten  miles  longer  than  we  anticipated 


and  for  a  long  distance  without  water;  and,  at  two  miles  from 
this  camp,  the  Indians  made  a  strong  demonstration  on  our 
supply  train,  but  were  handsomely  dispersed  and  driven  off 
by  the  rearguards,  and  infantry  deployed  on  either  flank. 

"My  men  and  animals  require  rest;  I  shall  remain  here  to 
morrow;  I  have  a  good  camp,  with  an  abundance  of  wood, 
water  and  grass. 

"The  Indians  in  considerable  numbers  have  been  assem 
bled  on  a  high  hill  about  three  miles  distant,  ever  since  we 
encamped,  about  4  p.m.,  untill  now,  7  p.m  ,  when  they  have 
retired.  I  shall  look  after  them  tomorrow,  after  my  men  have 
had  a  night's  rest. 

Those  words  of  the  commanding  officer  now  nonchalant, 
though  he  doubtless  knew  that  every  mother's  son  in  his  co 
lumn  instinctively  felt  that  the  morrow  contained  a  crisis  in 
their  lives.  There  were  too  many  experienced  Indians  fighters 
in  that  camp  not  to  have  the  sentiment  prevail  that  the  parties 
seen  and  the  demonstration  on  the  packtrain  were  but  typical 
Indian  warfare  of  the  time.  The  small  parties  were  decoys, 
displayed  with  a  view  to  mislead  the  troops  as  to  the  strength 
of  the  gathered  tribes.  The  feint  on  the  packtrain  was  but  a 
mettle- test. 

"We  knew  that  their  main  body  could  not  be  far  distant," 
chronicled  one  officer. 

Another  recalls  the  effect  of  one  lone  Indian  upon  the  camp 
in  this  language.  "The  camp  was  situated  about  a  mile  from 
a  high,  bald  hill,  on  the  summit  of  which  an  Indian  sentinel 
showed  himself,  mounted  and  bearing  a  banner  with  a  long 
staff.  This  sentinel  remained  visible  untill  the  darkness  of  the 
night  shut  him  out  from  our  view." 

Thus  was  the  camp  at  the  Four  lakes  on  the  eve  of  battle. 


60 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


15 


Battle  of  the  Four  Lakes 


A  commanding  officer,  writing  in  a  field  tent  at  the  close 
of  a  day  of  battle  with  an  enemy  in  a  hostile  region  and  re 
porting  the  bare  military  facts  to  his  superiors,  never  pro 
duces  so  vivid  and  inspiring  a  word  picture  of  the  scenes 
which  transpire,  as  does  a  Kinglake,  standing  outside  the 
lines  and  telling  the  story  a  little  later  to  the  multitude. 
Colonel  Wright's  report  of  the  Battle  of  Four  Lakes  is 
a  document  strictly  and  punctiliously  military.  It  mentions 
the  points  of  vantage,  observes  thaf'atyroin  the  art  of  war 
could  not  have  hesitated  a  moment  in  his  plan  of  battle," 
mentions  the  various  charges  and  deploys,  sums  up  results 
and  compliments  officers  and  men  deserving  it. 

To  Adjutant  Kip,  standing  in  the  group  of  officers  consti 
tuting  the  staff  of  the  commander,  was  given  the  opportu 
nity  to  subordinate  the  military  moves,  to  bring  into  re 
lief  the  spectacular  and  picturesque  and  to  preserve  the 
flashes  of  human  life  which  always  enlighten  a  field  of 
battle.  It  is  Kip's  description,  rather  than  Wright's  report, 
to  which  the  general  reader  would  expectantly  turn  for  sat 
isfying  information  touching  the  events  of  the  day.  Kip  wrote: 

At  daylight  we  found  the  Indians  increased  in  number, 
still  posted  on  the  hills  overlooking  us.  Their  manner  was 
defiant  and  insolent,  and  they  seemed  to  be  inviting  an  at 
tack.  At  eight  o'clock  orders  were  issued  to  have  the  ar 
tillery  battalion  in  readiness,  as  it  might  be  called  out  at 
any  moment  Shortly  after,  the  dragoons,  four  companies 
of  artillery,  the  howitzer  battery  under  Lieutenant  White, 
and  the  two  companies  of  rifles  were  ordered  out  to  drive 
the  Indians  from  the  hill  and  engage  the  main  body,  which 
we  ascertained  was  concentrated  beyond  it.  They  were 
formed  into  two  columns,  one  of  dragoons  numbering  100, 
the  other  of  artillery  and  infantry,  about  220  strong. 

One  company  of  artillery,  under  Lieutenants  Gibson  and 
Dandy,  a  detachment  of  dragoons  and  the  guard,  consisting 
of  about  fifty  men  under  Lieutenant  Lyon,  officer  of  the 
guard,  all  under  command  of  Captain  Hardie  officer  of  the 
day,  were  left  to  defend  the  camp.  As  we  did  not  know  the 
strength  of  the  enemy,  and  had  400  mules  and  extensive 
stores,  it  became  necessary  to  leave  this  force  to  guard 
the  camp  lest  it  should  be  attacked  in  the  absence  of  the 
main  body. 

After  advancing  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  we  reached  the 
hill  and  prepared  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  it.  Major 
Grier,  with  the  dragoons,  marched  to  the  left,  while  the 
party  of  our  Nez  Perces  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant 
Mullan  wound  round  the  hill  and  ascended  at  the  right.  The 


main  column  came  next,  with  Colonel  Wright  and  staff  at 
its  head,  followedbyCaptainKeyes,  commanding  the  artil 
lery,  the  Third  artillery,  the  rifles  and  the  howitzer  bat 
tery. 

As  soon  as  the  dragoons  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  they 
dismounted,  one  half  holding  the  horses  and  the  others  act 
ing  as  skirmishers.  After  exchanging  a  volley  with  the  In 
dians,  they  drove  them  off  the  hill  and  held  it  until  the  foot 
soldiers  arrived.  On  our  way  up,  Colonel  Wright  received 
a  message  from  Major  Grier,  stating  that  the  Indians  were 
collected  in  large  numbers  (about  500,  it  was  thought)  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  apparently  prepared  to  fight.  Colonel 
Wright  immediately  ordered  the  battalion  rapidly  forward, 
ordering  Captain  Ord's  command  to  the  left  to  be  deployed 
as  skirmishers. 

My  place  as  adjutant  of  the  battalion,  was,  of  course, 
with  Captain  Keyes.  We  rode  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  when 
the  whole  scene  lay  before  us  like  a  splendid  panorama. 
Before  us  lay  "Four  Lakes,"  a  large  one  at  the  foot  of  the 
barren  hill  on  which  we  were,  and  just  beyond  it  three 
smaller  ones,  surrounded  by  rugged  rocks  and  almost  en 
tirely  fringed  with  pines.  Between  these  lakes  and  beyond 
them  to  the  northwest  stretched  out  a  plain  for  miles. 
Terminated  by  bare  grassy  hills,  one  succeeding  another 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  In  the  far  distance  was 
dimly  seen  a  line  of  mountains  covered  with  dark  pine. 

On  the  plain  below  we  saw  the  enemy.  Every  spot 
seemed  alive  with  the  wild  warriors  we  had  come  so  far  to 
meet.  They  were  in  the  pines  on  the  edge  of  the  lakes,  in 
the  ravines,  on  the  opposite  hillsides  and  swarming  over 
the  plain.  They  seemed  to  cover  the  country  for  some  two 
miles.  Mounted  on  their  fleet,  hardy  horses,  the  crowd 
swayed  back  and  forth,  brandishing  their  weapons,  shout 
ing  their  war  cries  and  keeping  up  a  song  of  defiance. 

Most  of  them  were  armed  with  Hudson  Bay  muskets, 
while  others  had  bow  and  arrows  and  long  lances.  They 
were  in  all  the  bravery  of  their  war  array,  gaudily  painted 
and  decorated  with  their  wild  trappings.  Their  plumes  flut 
tered  above  them  while  below,  skins  and  trinkets  and  all 
kinds  of  fantastic  embellishments  flaunted  in  the  sunshine. 
Their  horses,  too,  were  arrayed  in  the  most  glaring  fin 
ery.  Some  were  even  painted,  and  with  colors  to  form  the 
greatest  contrast— the  white  being  smeared  with  crimson 
in  fantastic  figures,  and  the  dark-colored  streaked  with 
white  clay.  Beads  and  fringes  of  gaudy  colors  were  hang 
ing  from  their  bridles  while  their  plumes  of  eagle  feathers 


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62 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


interwoven  with  the  mane  and  tail,  fluttered  as  the  breeze 
swept  over  them  and  completed  their  wild  and  fantastic 
appearance. 

By  heavens!  it  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see. 

The  gay  array  of  their  wild  chivalry. 

But  we  had  no  time  for  mere  admiration.  For  other 
work  was  in  hand.  Orders  were  at  once  issued  for  the 
artillery  and  infantry  to  be  deployed  as  skirmishers  and 
advance  down  the  hill,  driving  the  Indians  before  them 
from  their  coverts,  until  they  reached  the  plain  where  the 
dragoons  could  act  against  them.  At  the  same  time,  Lieu 
tenant  White,  with  the  howitzer  battery,  supported  by  com 
pany  A,  under  Lieutenant  tyler,  and  the  rifles  was  sent  to 
the  right  to  drive  them  out  of  the  woods.  The  latter  met 
with  a  vigorous  resistance,  but  a  few  discharges  of  the 
howitzers  -with  their  spirited  attack  soon  dislodged  the 
enemy  and  compelled  them  to  take  refuge  on  the  hills. 

In  the  meantime  the  companies  moved  down  the  hill  with 
all  the  precision  of  a  parade;  and  as  we  rode  along  the  line 
it  was  pleasant  to  see  the  enthusiasm  of  the  men  to  get 
within  reach  of  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  they  were  within 
600  yards  they  opened  fire  and  delivered  it  steadily  as 
they  advanced.  Our  soldiers  aimed  regularly,  though  it  was 
no  easy  task  to  hit  their  shifting  marks.  The  Indians 
acted  as  skirmishers,  advancing  rapidly  and  delivering 
their  fire,  and  then  retreating  again  with  a  quickness  and 
irregularity  which  rendered  it  difficult  to  reach  them. 
They  were  wheeling  and  dashing  about,  always  on  the  run, 
apparently  each  fighting  on  his  own  account. 

But  minie  balls  and  long  range  rifles  were  things  with 
which,  now  for  the  first  time,  they  were  to  be  made  ac 
quainted.  As  the  line  advanced,  first  we  saw  one  Indian 
reel  in  his  saddle  and  fall,  then  two,  three,  then  half  a 
dozen.  Then  some  horses  would  dash  madly  forward, 
showing  that  the  balls  were  telling  on  them.  The  instant, 
however,  that  the  braves  fell,  they  were  seized  by  their 
companions  and  dragged  to  the  rear  to  be  borne  off.  We 
saw  one  Indian  leading  off  a  horse  with  two  of  his  dead 
companions  on  it. 

But  in  a  few  minutes,  as  the  line  drew  nearer,  the  fire 
became  to  heavy,  and  the  whole  array  broke  and  fled 
toward  the  plain.  This  was  the  scheme  for  which  the  dra 
goons  had  been  impatiently  waiting.  As  the  line  advanced, 
they  had  followed  on  behind  it,  leading  their  horses.  Now 
the  order  was  given  to  mount,  and  they  rode  through  the 
company  intervals  to  the  front. 

In  an  instant  was  heard  the  voice  of  Major  Grier  ringing 
over  the  plain,  as  he  shouted,  "Charge  the  rascals!"  and 
on  the  dragoons  went  at  headlong  speed.  Taylor's  and 
Gaston's  companies  were  there,  burning  for  revenge,  and 
soon  they  were  on  them.  We  saw  the  flash  of  the  sabers  as 
they  cut  them  down.  Lieutenant  Davidson  shot  one  warrior 
from  his  saddle  as  they  charged  up,  and  Lieutenant  Gregg 
clove  the  skull  of  another.  Yells  and  shrieks  and  uplifted 
hands  were  on  no  avail  as  they  rode  over  them.  A  number 
were  left  dead  upon  the  ground,  when  once  more  the  crowd 
broke  and  dashed  for  the  hills.  It  was  a  race  for  life  as  the 
flymg  warriors  streamed  out  of  the  glens  and  ravines  and 
over  the  open  plain,  and  took  refuge  in  the  clumps  of  woods 
or  on  the  rising  ground. 

Here  they  were  secure  from  the  dragoons.  Had  the  latter 


been  well  mounted,  they  would  have  made  a  terrible 
slaughter.  But  their  horses  were  too  much  worn  out  to 
allow  them  to  reach  the  main  body.  For  28  days  they  had 
been  on  their  march,  the  horses  saddled  all  day,  at  night 
picketed,  with  only  a  little  grass  after  camping.  They  were 
obliged,  therefore,  to  halt  when  they  reached  the  hillside, 
their  horses  being  entirely  blown. 

Then  the  line  on  foot  once  more  passed  them  and,  advan 
cing,  renewed  their  fire,  driving  the  Indians  over  the  hills 
for  about  two  miles.  As  we  ascended,  the  men  were  so 
totally  exhausted  that  many  had  fallen  out  of  the  ranks, 
and  Captain  Keyes  was  obliged  to  order  a  short  halt  to  let 
them  come  up.  When  a  portion  had  joined,  we  resumed 
our  march 

The  great  mass  of  Indians  had  by  this  time  passed  over 
the  crest  of  the  hill,  and  when  we  rode  to  the  top  but  a  few 
of  them  were  visible.  Without  again  attempting  to  make  any 
head,  they  had  taken  refuge  in  the  woods  and  ravines  be 
yond  the  reach  of  the  troops.  A  single  group  was  seen  at 
some  distance,  apparently  left  to  watch  us,  but  a  shell 
from  the  howitzer  by  Lieutenant  White  bursting  over  their 
heads  soon  sent  them  to  seek  refuge  in  the  ravines. 

For  a  short  time  we  remained  on  the  hill  but,  no  new 
demonstration  having  been  made,  Colonel  Wright  ordered 
the  recall  to  be  sounded,  and  we  marched  back  to  the 
camp.  A  number  of  our  men  had  never  before  been  under 
fire,  but  begrimed  and  weary  as  they  were,  we  could  see 
in  their  faces  how  much  they  enjoyed  the  excitement  of  the 
fight.  Certainly  none  could  evince  better  discipline  or 
behave  more  coolly.  We  had  been  absent  from  the  camp 
about  four  hours,  and  had  driven  the  enemy  from  the  point 
where  the  attack  was  first  made,  about  three  miles  and  a 
half. 

As  we  rode  back  we  saw  on  the  plain  the  evidences  of  the 
fight.  In  all  directions  were  scattered  the  arms,  muskets 
quivers  bows  and  arrows,  blankets,  robes,  etc., which  had 
been  thrown  away  by  our  flying  enemies,  horses,  too,  were 
roaming  about,  which  our  Indian  allies  were  employed  in 
catching.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the  troops  returning  with 
their  trophies.  One  officer  had  two  buffalo  robes  and  a 
blanket  wrapped  around  himself  and  horse. 

What  the  Indian  loss  was  we  cannot  exactly  say,  as  they 
carried  off  their  dead.  Some  seventeen,  however,  were 
seen  to  be  killed,  while  there  must  have  been  between 
40  and  50  wounded  Among  those  killed,  we  subsequent 
ly  learned,  were  a  brother  and  brother-in-law  of  Garry, 
the  head  chief  of  the  Spokanes. 

Strange  to  say,  not  one  our  men  was  injured.  One 
dragoon  horse  alone  was  wounded.  This  was  owing  to 
the  long-range  rifles  now  first  used  by  our  troops,  and 
the  discipline  which  enabled  them  so  admirably  to  use 
them  Had  the  men  been  armed  with  tose  formerly  used, 
the  result  of  the  fight  as  to  the  loss  on  our  side  would 
have  been  far  differents,  for  the  enemy  outnumbered  us 
and  had  all  the  courage  which  we  are  accustomed  to 
ascribe  to  Indian  warriors.  But  they  ere  panic  struck 
by  the  effect  of  our  fire  at  such  geat  distances,  and  the 
steady  advance  of  the  troops,  unchecked  by  constant 
fire  kept  upon  them. 

Such  is  the  story  left  to  posterity  by  Adjutant  Lawrence 
Kip,  a  native  of  New  York,  but,  upon  the  accession  of  his  fa- 


BATTLE  OF  THE  FOUR  LAKES 


63 


ther  to  the  Episcopal  bishopric  of  California,  schooled  in  the 
adventurous  life  of  the  Californian  of  the  period,  whose  of 
ficial  duties  on  the  day  described  afforded  advantages  for  ob 
servation  shared  by  a  few  on  the  field  and  who  from  notes 
made  on  the  evening  after  the  battle  wrote  in  the  following 
winter  the  story  here  reproduced. 

"It  affords  me  the  highest  gratification  to  report  that  we 
did  not  lose  a  man,  either  killed  or  wounded,  during  the  ac 
tion—attributable,  I  doubt  not,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  fact 
that  our  long  range  rifles  can  reach  the  enemy  where  he  can 
not  reach  us,"  is  the  comment  of  Colonel  Wright  just  prior 
to  recording  his  "great  pleasure  in  commending  to  the  de 
partment  the  coolness  and  gallantry  displayed  by  every  offi 
cer  and  soldier  engaged  in  this  battle. 

The  Nez  Perce  allies  exhibited  an  earnest  of  their  fealty 
under  the  terms  of  the  newly  made  treaty,  for  Colonel  Wright 
observed: 

"Lieutenant  Mullan  speaks  in  glowing  terms  of  the  conduct 
of  the  Nez  Perces  throughout  the  action;  at  one  time  charging 
the  enemy  in  the  brush  and  timber  on  the  Spokane  plain,  dri 
ving  him  out  and  pursuing  him  beyond  view;  and  again  a  small 
party  under  the  chief  Hutes-e-mah-li-kan  and  Captain  John 
met  and  engaged  the  enemy  which  was  endeavoring  to  attack 
our  rear,  recapturing  a  horse  left  by  an  officer  while  moving 
over  the  rocks  and  ravines." 

Enlisted  men  of  the  dragoon  squadrons  came  in  for  a  mood 
of  high  praise  by  Major  Grier.  Some  of  these  men  distin 
guished  themselves  in  the  Union  cause  and  received  commis 
sions. 

There  was  First  Sergeant  James  A.  Hall,  of  Captain 
Taylor's  old  company,  already  with  a  mention  for  gallantry 
by  Colonel  Steptoe  for  his  course  during  the  fateful  fight  at 
Te-hoto-nim-me.  He  was  a  Texan  and  has  seen  service  with 
the  Mounted  Rifles.  In  after  years  he  was  a  cavalry  captain 
and  brevetted  for  gallantry  at  Todd's  Tavern  and  Five  Forks. 
He  retired  from  the  army  on  New  Year's  day,  1871,  with  the 
rank  of  brevet  major. 

There  was  Private  Joel  G.Trimble,  of  Lieutenant  Gaston's 
old  troop  in  the  Steptoe  fight.  He  received  shoulder  straps  in 
1863  and  was  assigned  to  the  First  cavalry,  in  which  he 
served  as  regimental  adjutant  and  comissary  of  subsistence. 
He  distinguished  himself  at  Trevillian  Station  and  Cedar 
Creek.  He  retired  in  1879  with  a  brevet  majority.  He  is  still 
living  at  Berkeley,  California  with  the  distinction  of  having 
served  in  no  less  than  thirteen  Indians  campaigns. 

There  were  First  Sergeant  William  H.  Ingerton  and  Ser 
geant  William  Dean  of  troop  1,  Under  Major  Grier' s  immedi 
ate  command.  The  first  resigned  an  infantry  captaincy  in  the 
midst  of  the  Civil  War  to  become  lieutenant  colonel  of  the 
Thirteenth  volunteer  cavalry  of  his  native  state  of  Tennessee 
and  earned  brevets  at  Shiloh  and  Murfreesboro,  dying  in 
1864.  Dean  became  a  cavalry  officer  in  1862  and  was  bre 
vetted  captain  and  major  for  his  gallantry  at  Trevillian  Sta 
tion  and  Five  Forks.  He  died  in  1870. 

And  there  was  First  Sergeant  Edward  Ball  who  was  repor 


ted  as  "missing"  after  the  Steptoe  fight.  Ball  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  who  under  the  name  of  "David  Key"  became  a  private 
in  the  Fourth  infantry  in  1844.  Five  years  later  he  entered  the 
First  dragoons,  and  for  over  eleven  years,  to  August  of  1861 
he  was  first  sergeant  of  troop  H.  He  then  became  an  infantry 
officer  but  was  soon  transferred  to  the  cavalry  arm  of  the 
service  during  the  Civil  War.  He  was  Captain  Ball  at  the 
close  of  the  great  conflict  ...  On  being  promoted  to  his 
majority,  his  service  was  with  the  Seventh  cavalry,  the  old 
Custer  regiment.  Major  Ball  retired  after  forty  years  ser 
vice  in  the  army,  in  1884  and  died  in  October  of  that  year. 

Sergeant  Michael  Kenny  explained  why  the  "missing" 
Sergeant  Ball  of  Steptoe  became  the  "gallant  and  merito 
rious"  Sergeant  Ball  of  the  Four  Lakes: 

As  the  sad  sun  sank  into  the  west  from  the  hill  at  Te-hoto- 
nim-me  and  it  became  apparent  that  the  little  command  would 
"go  under,"  arrangements  were  made  to  destroy  such  stores 
as  would  be  used  by  the  Indians.  Dr.  Randolph's  medical  sup 
plies  were  carried  by  troop  H.  In  the  chest  was  a  quantity  of 
whisky,  medicine  to  the  troops  but  as  inflammable  as  pitch 
to  the  Indian.  As  "top"  sergeant,  Ball  was  ordered  to  destroy 
the  liquor.  Ball  had  been  fighting  and  marching  all  day.  He 
would  destroy  some  of  that  red  liquor  in  person.  Whether  he 
did  not  have  a  guage,  or  over-estimated  his  own  powers  of 
resistance,  may  not  be  known;  at  any  rate,  the  whiskey  nearly 
destroyed  Ball.  As  night  came  down  Ball  took  himself  out 
side  the  hnes  of  the  little  safety  zone  of  the  beleagured  sol 
diers.  The  proverbial  luck  of  the  drunken  man  was  with  him. 
He  was  not  seen  by  the  besieging  forces  as  he  lay  down  in  a 
clump  of  bushes. 

The  sun  was  well  up  in  the  heavens  next  morning  when 
First  Sergeant  Ball  awoke  from  his  sleep.  His  command  was 
far  away  on  horseback,  hastening  as  rapidly  as  flesh  and 
nerve  could  carry  it  to  the  safety  afforded  by  Red  Wolfs 
crossing  on  the  Snake,  but  First  Sergeant  Ball  knew  it  not. 
He  peered  through  the  bushes  which  enveloped  him  up  at  that 
hill.  He  saw  a  few  boxes  and  some  litter  strewing  the  place 
where  he  expected  to  view  a  scene,  probably  of  carnage.  What 
he  actually  saw,  and  could  not  believe  his  senses,  was  a  few 
elderly  Indians  and  squaws  rummaging  through  the  visible 
debris.  Watching  them  closely  for  a  time,  Ball  concluded 
from  their  actions  that  they  were  not  hostiles,  but  friendlies. 
They  proved  to  be  Nez  Perces  who  fed  him  and  saw  that  he 
returned  safely  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  arriving  the  re  four  teen 
days  later.  The  fact  that  he  retained  his  first  sergenacy  and 
was  not  disciplined  for  his  lapse,  would  indicate  that  Ball's 
usual  soldierly  qualities  were  of  so  high  a  grade  as  to  make 
it  possible  for  his  superiors  to  overlook  this  one  occasion 
when  his  nerves  were  not  straight.  Perhaps  it  was  considered 
that  the  experiences  of  a  lonely  white  for  fourteen  day  among 
Indians,  in  times  so  disturbed  as  they  were  following  the  Step- 
toe  repulse,  constituted  "punishment  already  served." 

The  episode  did  not  deter  him  from  fighting  at  the  Four 
Lakes,  for  Lieutenant  Davidson  said  of  him,  "I  saw  him 
charge  upon  some  Indians,  unhorse  one  of  them,  dismount 
himself  and  kill  him." 


64 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


16 


On  the  Spokane  Plains 


"To  our  great  satisfaction  and  to  their  great  surprise,"  is 
the  rather  laconic  phrase  used  by  a  survivor  of  the  battle  of 
the  Four  Lakes  in  describing  the  immediate  results  of  that 
first  conflict  at  arms  between  the  expedition  and  the  hostiles. 
In  the  lull  which  followed,  Colonel  Wright  was  enabled  to  al 
low  the  rest  required  by  both  his  soldiers  and  his  animals. 
But  during  the  three  full  days  of  rest  which  followed,  not  an 
iota  of  vigilance  was  relaxed.  Hour  by  hour  the  soldiers  were 
reminded  that  they  were  in  a  hostile  country  by  the  appear 
ance  on  the  hill  tops  of  bands  of  Indian  lookouts.  It  was  plain 
that  the  hostiles  were  not  to  give  up  after  one  fight. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Indians  passed  those  three  days 
is  problematical.  Doubtless  councils  were  held  to  map  out  a 
further  plan  of  action,  made  necessary  by  the  unexpected  re 
pulse  of  the  Four  Lakes.  The  whites  have  never  learned 
whether  Kamiahkin  was  on  the  field  or  in  the  vicinity  during 
the  engagement  of  the  1st,  but  it  is  known  that  he  was  present 
during  the  battle  of  the  Spokane  Plains  and  there  injured. 
According  to  Colonel  Wright's  reports  the  numbers  of  the 
hostiles  had  increased  during  the  three-day  interval.  Even 
after  the  fight  of  the  5th  the  increase  in  the  number  of  Indians 
throughout  the  Spokane  valley  was  noticeable.  Some  days 
later  a  large  band  of  horses  belonging  to  the  Palouse  were 
in  the  valley,  and  there  may  be  ground  for  the  opinion,  ex 
pressed  by  some,  that  Kamiahkin  ultimately  expected  to  cor 
oner  the  expedition  in  the  mountains  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 
and  there  destroy  it  through  tactics  of  beleaguer  and  harry, 
participated  in  by  all  the  warriors  of  his  allied  tribes. 

If  Kamiahkin  entertained  such  a  plan,  he  was  not  allowed 
time  in  which  to  concentrate  his  followers.  The  departure  of 
Colonel  Wright  from  his  camp  was  noted  by  the  hostiles  and 
an  attack  was  made  before  half  a  dozen  miles  had  been  trav 
eled. 

Colonel  Wright,  in  his  reports,  gave  no  intimation  as  to  his 
purposes  or  destination  on  quitting  the  camp  at  the  Four 
Lakes.  He  had  determined  to  leave  the  Colville  trail  some 
days  before  he  arrived  at  the  Four  Lakes,  but  he  did  not 
vouchsafe  his  reasons  for  so  doing.  It  may  be  mat  he  recalled 
how  Colonel  Steptoe  was  "on  the  road  to  Colville."  He  prob 
ably  knew  that  the  Indians  had  declined  to  allow  Steptoe  the 
use  of  boats  in  which  to  effect  a  crossing  of  the  Spokane.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  Colonel  Wright  anticipated  that  the  In 
dians  had  thought  it  to  be  foregone  that  his  destination  was 
Colville  and  that  they  would  attack  him  where  the  old  trail 
crossed  the  Spokane.  It  is  known  that  the  colonel  did  not 
determine  to  enter  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  directly  until  the  10th, 


and  that  occurrences  and  developments  of  those  five  days  in 
fluenced  him  to  a  decision  not  to  go  to  Colville. 

Colonel  Wright's  story  of  September  5th,  told  in  his  offi 
cial  report  is  as  follows: 

Sirs:-I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  of  the 
battle  of  the  "Spokane  Plains",  fought  by  the  troops  under 
my  command  on  the  5th.  Our  enemies  were  the  Spokanes, 
Coeur  d'Alenes,  Palouses,  and  Pend  O'reilles  numbering 
from  five  to  seven  hundred  warriors. 

Leaving  my  camp  at  the  "Four  Lakes"  at  6y2A.M.  on 
the  5th,  our  route  lay  along  the  margin  of  a  lake  for  about 
three  miles,  and  thence  for  two  miles  over  a  broken  coun 
try,  thinly  scattered  with  pines;  when  emerging  on  to  the 
open  prairie,  the  hostile  Indians  were  discovered  about 
three  miles  to  our  right  and  in  advance,  moving  rapidly  a- 
long  the  skirt  of  the  woods,  apparently  with  the  view  of  in 
tercepting  our  line  of  march  before  we  should  reach  the 
timber. 

After  halting  and  closing  up  our  pack  train,  I  moved  for 
ward  and  soon  found  that  the  Indians  were  setting  fire  to 
the  grass  at  various  points  in  front  and  on  my  right  flank, 
Captain  Keyes  was  directed  to  advance  three  of  his  com 
panies,  deployed  as  skirmishers,  to  the  front  and  right; 
this  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  Captain  Ord,  with 
company  K,  Lieutenant  Gibson,  with  company  M,  and  Lieu 
tenant  Tyler,  with  company  A,  3rd  artillery  were  thrown 
forward. 

At  the  same  time  Captain  Hardie,  Company  G,and  how 
itzers,  under  Lieutenant  White,  supported  by  company  E, 
9th  infantry,  under  Captain  Winder,  were  advanced  to  the 
line  of  skirmishers.  The  firing  now  became  brisk  on  both 
sides-the  Indians  attacking  us  in  front  and  on  both  flanks. 
The  fires  on  the  prairie  enveloped  us  and  we  re  rapidly  ap 
proaching  our  troops  and  the  pack  train.  Not  a  moment  was 
to  be  lost  I  ordered  the  advance.  The  skirmishers,  the 
howitzers  and  the  1st  squadron  of  the  dragoons  under  Bre 
vet  Major  Grier,  dash  gallantly  through  the  roaring  flames 
and  the  Indians  were  driven  to  seek  shelter  in  the  forest 
and  rocks.  As  soon  as  a  suitable  position  could  be  obtained 
the  howitzers,  under  White,  opened  fire  with  shells;  the 
Indians  were  again  routed  from  their  cover,  closely  pur 
sued  by  our  skirmishers,  and  followed  by  Grier  with  his 
squadron  leading. 

At  this  time  our  pack  train  was  concentrated  as  much  as 
possible  and  guarded  by  Captain  Dent,  9th  infantry,  with 
his  company  B,  Lieutenant  Davidson,  1st  dragoons,  with 


65 


his  company  E,  and  Lieutenant  Ihrie  3rd  artillery,  with  his 
company  B,  advancing;  the  trail  bore  off  to  the  right, 
which  left  Ord  and  Tyler,  with  their  skirmishers,  to  the 
left.  A  heavy  body  of  Indians  had  concentrated  on  our  left, 
when  our  whole  line  moved  quckly  forward,  and  the  firing 
became  more  general  throughout  the  front  occupied  by  Ord 
Hardie  and  Tyler,  and  the  howitzers,  under  White  support 
ed  by  Winder,  withGregg's  troops  of  dragoons  following  in 
the  rear,  waiting  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  a 
dash.  At  the  same  time  Gibson,  with  company  M,  3rd  artil 
lery,  drove  the  Indians  on  the  right  front. 

An  open  prairie  here  intervening,  Major  Grier  passed 
the  skirmishers  with  his  own  and  Lieutenant  Fender's 
troop  and  charged  the  Indians,  killing  two  and  wounding 
three.  Our  whole  line  and  train  advanced  steadily,  driving 
the  Indians  over  rocks  and  through  ravines.  Our  point  of 
direction  having  been  changed  to  the  right,  Captain  Ord 
found  himself  alone  with  his  company  on  the  extreme  left 
of  the  skirmishers,  and  opposed  by  a  large  number  of  the 
enemy.  They  were  gallantly  charged  by  Captain  Ord  and 
driven  successively  from  three  table  rocks  where  they  had 
taken  refuge.  Captain  Ord  pursued  the  Indians  untill  ap 
proaching  the  train,  he  occupied  the  left  flank.  In  this  move 
ment  CaptainOrd  was  assisted  by  Captain  Winder  and  Lieu 
tenants  Gibson  and  White  who  folio  wed  into  the  woods  after 
him. 

Moving  toward  the  Spokane  River,  the  Indians  still  in 
front  of  Lieutenant  Ihrie  and  Howard,  with  Company  B,  3rd 
artillery,  were  thrown  out  on  the  right  flank,  and  instantly 
cleared  the  way;  and  after  a  continuous  fight  for  seven 
hours,  over  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles,  we  encamped  on 
the  bank  of  the  Spokane;  the  troops  exhausted  by  a  long  and 
fatiguing  march  of  twenty-five  miles,  without  —(water?) 
and  for  two  thirds  of  the  distance  under  fire. 

The  battle  won,  two  chiefs  and  two  brothers  of  the  chief 
Garry  killed,  besides  many  of  lesser  note  either  killed  or 
wounded. 

A  kind  providence  again  protected  us,  although  at  many 
times  the  balls  flew  thick  and  fast  through  our  ranks;  yet 
strange  to  say,  we  had  but  one  man  slightly  wounded. 

During  the  battle  a  chief  was  killed,  and  on  his  body  was 
found  the  pistol  worn  by  the  lamented  Gaston,  who  fell  in 
the  affair  with  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe. 

Again  it  affords  me  the  highest  pleasure  to  bear  witness 
to  the  zeal  energy,  preserverance  and  gallantry  dislplayed 
by  the  officers  and  men  during  this  protacted  battle. 

This  report  does  not  mention  the  wounding  of  Kamiahkin, 
nor  does  it  make  any  reference  to  him.  That  fact  is  brought 
out  by  General  Dandy  in  his  personal  reminiscences,  in  a 
subsequent  chapter  hereof. 

On  the  23rd  of  September  General  Clarke  from  Vancouver 
forwarded  Colonel  Wright's  reports  of  the  two  fights  to  army 
headquarters,  "with  gratification."  The  general  observed,  by 
way  of  comment,  "that  the  success  narrated  in  these  dis 
patches  is  a  surety  of  peace  henceforth  wjth  these  Indians." 

It  is  only  in  such  expressions  as  those  just  quoted  that 
one  finds  the  official  reports  of  the  campaign  reflecting  the 
degree  of  Intense  anxiety  and  tension  shared  by  every  army 
officer  In  the  Pacific  Northwest.  It  was  known  that  the  crafty 
Kamiahkin  was  putting  forth  every  effort  of  which  his  intense 
hatred  of  the  "Boston  man"  was  capable  to  amalgamate  all 


the  tribes  into  opposition.  Not  knowing  just  how  far  he  would 
be  able  to  carry  out  his  plans,  the  army  felt  itself  face  to 
face  with  an  Indian  war  of  years'  duration.  Two  victories  at 
the  outset  augured  well. 

But  at  Fort  Vancouver  it  was  not  known  that  the  last  shot 
of  the  war  had  been  fired.  Even  the  officers  and  men  en 
camped  on  the  Spokane  river  at  the  close  of  an  all-day  fight 
did  not  so  understand  it.  It  seemed  incredible  and  without 
the  range  of  possibility  that  the  war  was  over  and  not  a  man 
in  blue  killed.  The  soldiers  composing  the  expedition  gave 
way  to  no  spirit  of  elation.  They  took  cheer,  that  they  had 
gone  thus  far  into  the  enemy's  country  and  had  accomplished 
neatly  thus  much  of  the  work  laid  out  before  them.  But  that 
they  had  demolished  the  great  Kamiahkin' s  fabric  of  an  allied 
federation,  they  were  in  no  spirit  to  believe  had  it  been  told 
them. 

General  Clarke,  prior  to  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the 
Four  Lakes  and  Spokane  Plains  reflected  the  preconceived 
notions  of  the  campaign  as  follows:  "If  the  Colonel  crossed 
the  Snake  River  on  the  day  he  announced  his  intention  to  cross 
it,  he  has  now  been  twelve  days  in  the  field.  I,  therefore, 
take  it  for  granted,  no  report  having  been  received  from  him, 
that  he  has  not  encountered  any  serious  obstacle  or  met  the 
hostiles.  If  they  have,  or  shall  have,  fled,  as  may  be  the  case, 
to  the  mountains,  the  Colonel  will  probably  proceed  as  far 
as  Colville,  whence  he  may  forward  intelligence  of  his 
movement  and  its  results." 

Turning  again  to  Mu Han's  memoir,  the  only  running  ac 
count  of  the  daily  progress  of  the  expedition,  the  following 
is  cited: 

Resuming  our  march  for  the  Spokane  River  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  5th  of  September,  our  route  lay  along  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  largest  of  the  Four  Lakes.  About  a 
mile  from  camp,  on  gaining  the  summit  of  one  of  the 
prairie  buttes,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  Spokane  plains; 
which  to  the  northeast  and  west  were  bounded  by  lines  of 
high  timbered  hills.  The  Spokane  river  running  at  the 
southern  foot  of  the  hills  or  buttes  seen  to  our  north.  The 
southern  portion  of  the  plain  is  skirted  by  a  strip  of  timber 
some  five  miles  broad.  This  plain  is  rich  and  fertile,  well 
grassed,  with  small  clumps  of  timer,  pine  and  cottonwood 
at  detached  points. 

The  Indians,  after  leaving  the  prairie,  continued  the  fight 
in  the  timber,  and  we  moved  on,  driving  them  before  us, 
until  we  reached  the  Spokane  river,  no  water  being  found 
on  the  whole  line.  Our  march  being  scanty  grass  for  our 
animals,  but  water  and  fuel  in  abundance.  The  latter  part 
of  our  route  was  somewhat  difficult,  owing  to  the  timber 
and  rocks. 

We  found  the  Spokane  where  we  struck  it  a  stream  fifty 
yards  wide,  lined  on  either  side  with  strips  and  forests  of 
pine,  and  flowing  with  a  rapid  current;  water  from  three 
to  four  feet  deep  over  a  pebbly  bed,  with  banks  gradually 
sloping  on  either  side  to  some  fifty  feet  high,  when  the 
high  water  land,  on  what  is  here  known  as  the  Coeur  d* 
Alene  prairie,  is  reached. 

Following  through  the  timber  for  a  mile  along  the  left 
bank  of  the  Spokane  river,  we  encamped  for  the  night.  Our 
enemy  no  longer  annoyed  us,  having  been  driven  in  dismay 
and  discomfort  for  fifteen  miles  before  us,  leaving  many 
killed  and  wounded  on  the  field,  with  his  property  scattered 


66 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


in  every  direction;  and  they  now,  broken  in  small  groups 
for  miles  around,  it  became  time  for  them  to  consider 
their  position.  Our  men  and  animals  much  fatigued  with  a 
long  march  and  harrassing  fight,  rested  in  camp  on  the 
6th  of  September. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  mission  of  Lieutenant 
Mullan  on  the  Wright  expedition  was  two-fold.  One  branch  of 
his  work  related  specifically  to  the  business  undertaken  by 
the  column  of  which  he  was  a  member.  The  other  bore  upon 
the  future  and  the  construction  of  the  military  road  to  Fort 
Benton,  which  he  had  already  commenced. 

A  methodical  thinker  and  calculator,  Mullan  had  already 
called  upon  the  navy  department  to  establish  beyond  cavil  the 
exact  location  of  the  government's  new  Fort  Walla  Walla. 
Commander  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,  had  come  up  the  Columbia  with 
his  nautical  instruments  and  had  determined  the  position  of 
the  new  post  as  in  latitude  46  degrees,  3  minutes  and  18  sec 
onds,  longitude  118  degrees,  12  minutes  and  36  seconds.  The 
fact  that  such  pains  were  taken  to  establish  one  point  in  the 
midst  of  the  Inland  Empire  is  but  another  indication  of  the 
paucity  of  specific  information  about  the  country. 

With  his  own  chronometer  and  instruments  of  observa 
tion  corrected  and  readjusted,  Lieutenant  Mullan  had  only 
to  safeguard  his  various  mechanisms  to  be  able  to  establish 
with  accuracy  the  location  of  any  point  on  the  line  of  his 
itinerary.  To  the  only  wheeled  vehicle  taken  by  the  expedi 
tion  north  ot  the  Snake  river,  he  attached  his  odometer, 
while  in  its  body  were  carried  all  other  instruments  save 
the  chronometer,  which  was  carried  by  soldiers  on  foot, 
thus  obviating  deviations  from  the  jarring  incident  to  wheel 
ing  over  rocky  inclined  roads  and  pathways. 

As  thus  established  the  camp  at  the  Four  Lakes  lay  in 
latitude  47  degrees,  32  minutes  and  9  seconds,  longitude 
117  degrees,  32  minutes  and  5  seconds.  To  the  traveller  of 
1908  seeking  to  decipher  from  Mullan's  jottings  concern 
ing  lanscape  features  noted  from  day  to  day  for  the  pur 
pose  of  identifying  scenes  then  with  scenes  now  the  process 
would  be  laborious  and  would  result  with  as  little  satisfac 
tion,  except  in  certain  instances,  as  would  the  task  of  an 
astronomer  mapping  from  Xenophon's  "enthuthen  exelau- 
noi"  the  course  of  the  ancient  host  across  face  of  Asia 
minor. 

The  two  fights  of  the  Wright  campaign  were  spread  out 
from  the  camp  at  the  Four  Lakes.  At  the  outset  of  attempts 
as  calculation  just  where  that  camp  was  located  with  ref 
erence  to  localities  well  known  today,  one  is  met  by  differ 
ent  statements  as  to  the  distance  of  the  camp  from  the  hill 
mentioned  as  overlooking  the  plain  on  which  took  place  the 
greater  part  of  the  fighting. 

Colonel  Wright  suggests  "three  miles  distant"  in  one  re 
port,  and  "about  two  miles  distant,  in  another. 

Kipp  uses  the  words,  "After  advancing  about  a  mile  and 
a  half,  we  reached  the  hill." 

General  Dandy's  recollection  is  that  "The  camp  was  sit 
uated  about  a  mile  from  a  high,  bald  hill." 

Evidently  some  other  method  must  be  applied  to  fix  the  lo 
cation  of  the  camp.  Starting  with  the  latitude  and  longitude  as 
given  by  Mullan,  two  competent  engineers  of  the  present  day, 
without  conference,  agree  in  fixing  the  point  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  27,  township  24,  range  41.  So  much  for 
identification  through  mathematics. 


Thirty-odd  years  ago,  when  Pioneer  John  McKay  took  up 
land  southerly  from  what  is  now  known  as  Silver  Lake,  he 
found  "some  diggings,"  on  a  part  of  his  holdings.  At  the  time 
of  their  discovery  he  did  not  know  that  he  was  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  camp  of  a  military  expedition,  and  processes  of  tilling 
the  soil,  pasturage  and  travel  had  obliterated  the  shallow  ex 
cavations  and  other  camp  markings  before  he  learned  of  the 
halt  of  the  Wright  column  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Four  Lakes. 
Mr.  McKay  now  says  that  these  evidences  of  a  camp  were  in 
his  northeast  quarter  section,  the  same  section  as  fixed  upon 
by  the  computing  engineers.  From  the  easternportion  of  this 
section  rises  a  hill  which  has  been  known  as  "Wright's  ob 
servatory,"  though  no  one  can  be  found  who  knows  how  the  ap 
pellation  came  about.  Colonel  I.  N.  Peyton  of  Spokane,  for 
many  years  a  landowner  in  the  vicinity,  agrees  with  Mr.  Mc 
Kay. 

Upon  these  considerations,  the  statement  may  be  ventured 
that  the  camp  lay  southeasterly  from  Silver  Lake  and  wester 
ly  from  Medical  Lake.  There  are  in  reality  within  a  short  dis 
tance  of  the  point  indicated  no  less  than  six  lakes,  the  two  al 
ready  mentioned  and  Clear,  Granite,  Medical  and  West  Med 
ical.  It  would  seem  that  the  two  others  which  constituted  the 
"four"  of  Colonel  Wright  were  Granite  and  Clear.  Indeed,  it 
is  highly  improbable  that,  with  virgin  timber  on  the  surround 
ing  hills,  either  Medical  or  West  Medical  Lake  would  be  vis 
ible  from  "Wright's  observatory." 

That  the  camp  was  southerly  from  "Big  Lake"  of  Mullan's 
map  is  clearly  shown  by  the  route  indicated  thereon  along  the 
easterly  side  of  the  water.  From  Colonel  Wright's  report  is 
taken  the  statement,  "our  route  lay  along  the  margin  of  a 
lake  for  about  three  miles."  Mullan  notes,  "Our  route  lay  a- 
long  the  eastern  edge  of  the  largest  of  the  Four  Lakes."  Sil 
ver  Lake  is  today  the  largest  of  the  entire  group  lying  in  the 
plain.  It  was,  also,  thirty  years  ago  when  Pioneer  McKay  took 
up  his  land.  The  previous  twenty  years  could  hardly  have 
wrought  so  great  a  change  as  to  have  witnessed  another  lake 
with    a    margin   of   three    miles    along  one  of  its  sides. 

It  is  one  of  the  astonishing  features  of  the  recorded  pro 
gress  of  the  past  fifty  years  that  the  means  of  identifying 
locations  are  so  meager.  Were  Wright's  men  encamped  today 
in  the  same  spot  as  that  on  which  they  rested  for  three  days 
a  half  century  ago,  they  could  come  into  Spokane  on  either 
one  of  two  electric  trolley  lines,  learn  the  news  of  the  day 
and  be  back  in  their  tents  in  less  time  than  it  took  them  to 
whip  the  Indians  in  the  battle  of  the  Four  Lakes.  Were  Major 
Crier's  sqadrons  to  repeat  today  their  charge  in  the  battle 
of  the  Four  Lakes.  Were  Major  Grier's  squadron  to  repeat 
today  their  charge  in  the  battle  of  Spokane  Plains,  their  saber 
would  flash  across  the  Hazelwood  Farm  and  their  ears  would 
be  greeted,  not  by  Indian  yells,  but  by  the  terrified  squawking 
of  farmyard  fowl  of  high  degree,  the  shrill  squealing  of  re 
gistered  swine  and  the  scurrying  of  sleek  and  sedate  cattle 
in  whose  veins  flow  the  proudest  dairy  blood  known  to  the 
world. 

From  the  point  on  Mullan's  map  indicating  where  the  col 
umn  reached  the  Spokane  river,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the 
soldiers  marched  along  the  course  of  Indian  creek,  undoubt 
edly  dry  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

The  camp  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  falls  is  readily  recog 
nized  as  the  site  of  Fort  Wright,  named  in  honor  of  the  com 
mander  of  the  expedition  of  1858.  "As  to  the  location  of 


ON  THE  SPOKANE  PLAINS 


67 


Colonel  Wright's  headquarters,  at  the  first  camp  on  the  the  water  pipe  ROW  crosses  the  river  to  Fort  Wright  and 

Spokane  "  writes  General  Dandy,  "I  think  it  was  on  the  where  there  is  now  a  footbridge  for  passengers." 

general  flat  some  sixty  feet  above  the  river,  where  the  parade  J2™  "*  Bridge  is  little  used  by  the  later-day  soldiers 

Ar-    *«r  •  ».*    *  who  make  their  home  on  that  general  flat,  not  in  campaign 

ground  now  is.  I  was  at  Fort  Wright  a  few  years  ago,  my  son-  tents  but  in  substantial  mode*n  building^  of  brick>  ^ 

in-law,  Captain  Dean,  adjutant  of  the  Tenth  infantry,  being  reveille  sounds  and  the  morning  gun  announces  in  an  official 

stationed  there  at  the  time.  There  was  no  good  ground  for  a  rear  the  coming  of  another  day,  the  soldiers  look  across  the 

camp  near  the  edge  of  the  river,  except  at  or  near  a  bluff  river,  not  at  some  Indian  sentinels  hovering  warily  among 

which  overlooked  the  stream  where  there  is  a  pleasure  house  the  pine  trees,  but  at  the  substantial  structures  of  Spokane's 

and  park.  Probably  the  quartermaster's  camp  and  corral  citizens  and  shaded  streets  stretching  away  toward  the  center 

were  down  in  the  woods  near  the  edge  of  the  stream,  where  of  a  city  of  125,000  inhabitants. 


68  INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


17 


In  the  Spokane  Valley 


The  6th  of  September  was  passed  in  camp.  Colonel  Wright 
was  yet  undetermined  as  to  his  future  course.  Scouting  par 
ties  were  sent  out  during  the  day  to  ascertain  the  lay  of  the 
land,  watch  the  Indians  and  gather  information  concerning 
fording  places.  It  was  known  that  somewhere  between  the  falls 
of  the  Spokane  and  the  lake  oftheCoeur  d'  Alenes  there  was 
a  ford,  for  the  easterly  branch  of  the  Colville  trail,  that 
loading  into  the  country  of  the  Pend  d'Oreilles. 

Of  the  events  of  the  7th  of  September,  the  chief  of  which 
occurred  in  the  very  heart  of  the  present  limits  of  the  city 
of  Spokane,  Mullan  has  left  the  following  record: 

Finding  that  the  Indians  were  to  our  east  with  their  fam 
ilies  and  camps  and  that  they  evidently  intended  to  take 
flight  to  the  mountains,  the  Colonel  determined  to  move  up 
the  river,  and  to  this  purpose  the  following  day  was  spent, 


Spokane  River 


by  this  direction,  in  the  examination  of  the  river,  in  order 
to  find  a  good  ford  to  cross  the  command.  But  finding,  at 
and  below  our  camp,  the  stream  not  proving  fordable,  we 
determined  to  continue  our  march  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Spokane  to  one  of  the  principal  fords  above,  our  camp  hav 
ing  been  one  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the  Lahtoo  or  Nedu- 
huald,  or  Camass  Prairie  creek,  and  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  the  Upper  or  Great  Falls  of  the  Spokane. 
To  our  north  across  the  river  lay  the  broad  Coeur  d* 
Alene  prairie:  to  our  east  and  south  the  high  crusted  hills, 
while  to  our  west  we  had  a  series  of  extensive  plains  of 
different  levels. 

The  morning  of  the  7th  September  found  us  in  motion  a- 
long  the  left  bank  of  the  Spokane,  through  the  timber  for  a 
mile,  when  we  reached  the  Lahtoo,  now  dry,  but  which,  by 
its  cut  banks  and  rocky  bed,  gave  evidence  of  the  volume 
and  force  of  water  that  must  course  through  it  during 
spring  or  freshet  season. 

This  is  a  great  fishing  point  for  the  Indians,  as  shown  by 
the  number  of  barriers  in  the  bed  of  the  river  for  catching 
salmon.  The  hills  and  plains  around  afford  fine  grazing  for 
their  large  bands  of  stock.  Fuel  from  the  pine  forests  is 
had  in  abundance;  while  nature  furnishes  them  with  shoals 
of  the  fattest  salmon.  The  salmon  ascend  this  stream  to 
the  upper  falls  that  are  two  and  half  miles  above  the  Lah 
too;  but,  during  the  high  water  they  pass  even  beyond  these 
falls  to  the  very  mountains. 

The  Spokane  Falls  are  formed  by  the  whole  volume  of 
the  Spokane  river  dashing  over  and  inclined  ledge  of  rocks 
giving  a  total  fall  from  forty  to  fifty  feet.  The  river  here 
is  fifty  yards  wide,  water  clear  and  limpid,  and  flowing 
through  a  basaltic  trough  or  dalle.  In  passing  around  the 
falls  the  view  is  shut  out  for  some  distance,  when  again 
coming  sight  of  the  river  the  effect  is  quite  magical;  for 
the  stream  which  but  a  few  moments  before  was  far  below 
us,  is  suddenly  on  a  line  with  our  feet,  we  in  the  mean 
while  traveling  on  the  same  level  plain.  The  pine,  too,  now 
gives  place  to  fringes  of  cottonwood  and  willow,  and  the 
stream  flows  through  as  it  were,  abeautiful  flat  and  exten 
sive  meadow  land. 

That  last  paragraph  contains  what  is  probably  the  first 
written  description  of  the  falls  of  the  Spokane  to  appear  in 
government  records.  The  "basaltic  trough,  or  dalle"  is  here 
today,  but  much  of  it  is  not  visible  because  a  dam  has  been 
thrown  across  its  waist  and  the  harnessed  energy  of  the  tum 
bling  water  is  hauling  city  and  suburban  trolley  cars,  lighting 
cities  and  towns  and  operating  drills  in  the  silver-lead  mines, 


69 


nearly  100  miles  away  in  the  heart  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
mountains. 

The  Latah  creek  still  winds  its  sinuous  way  from  the  south 
east,  but  it  passes  beneath  bridges  today,  and  in  colloquial 
phrase  it  has  another  name,  Hangman  creek,  less  euphonious 
but  distinctly  reminiscent  of  the  Wright  expedition. 

The  Indian  weirs  and  barriers  have  long  since  gone,  and 
the  -visits  of  salmon  are  hardly  noticeable.  In  season  the 
caster  of  fly,  or  spoon  lures  the  trout,  but  no  longer  is  it  a 
great  fishing  point  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lahtoo.  The  hum  and 
the  noise  of  industry  was  ever  fatal  to  fishing. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  transportation  ana  waiehouse 
district  of  the  city  of  Spokane  that  Colonel  Wright  held  his 
first  personal  conference  with  the  Indians.  The  ford  two  miles 
above  the  falls  is  now  spanned  by  huge  railway  bridges,  and 
scores  of  electric  passenger  and  freight  trains  pass  close 
by  where  Garry  and  Pohlatkin  first  had  personal  converse 
with  their  conqueror,  while  behind  the  council  place  thunders 
the  entire  transcontinental  business  of  the  Northern  Pacific. 
Colonel  Wright  thus  reported  the  events  of  the  7th: 

Sir:  I  remained  during  the  6th  at  my  camp  three  i-niles 
below  the  falls,  as  my  troops  required  rest  after  the  long 
march  and  battle  of  the  previous  day.  No  hostile  demon 
strations  were  made  by  the  enemy  during  the  day;  they 
approached  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  in  very  small 
parties  and  intimated  a  desire  to  talk,  but  no  direct  com 
munication  was  held  with  them,  as  the  distance  was  too 
great  and  the  river  deep  and  rapid. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  I  advanced  along  the 
left  bank  of  the  Spokane,  and  soon  the  Indians  were  seen 
on  the  opposite  side,  and  a  talk  began  with  our  friendly 
Nez  Perces  and  interpreters.  They  said  that  they  wanted 
to  come  and  see  me  with  the  chief  Garry,  who  was  near 
by.  I  told  them  to  meet  me  at  the  ford,  two  miles  above  the 
falls. 

I  halted  at  the  ford  and  encamped;  soon  after  Garry 
crossed  over  and  came  to  me;  he  said  that  he  had  always 
been  opposed  to  fighting,  but  the  young  men  and  many  of 
the  chiefs  were  against  him,  and  he  could  not  control  them. 
I  then  told  him  to  go  back  and  say  to  all  Indians  and  chiefs: 

"I  have  met  you  in  two  bloody  battles;  you  have  been 
badly  whipped  you  have  lost  several  chiefs  and  many  war 
riors  killed  and  wounded;  I  have  not  lost  a  man  or  animal; 
I  have  a  large  force,  and  you  Spokanes,  Coeur  df  Alenes, 
Palouses  and  Fend  O'reilles  may  unite,  and  I  can  defeat 
you  as  badly  as  before.  I  did  not  come  into  this  country  to 
ask  you  to  make  peace  I  came  here  to  fight. 

"Now,  when  you  are  tired  of  the  war,  and  ask  for  peace, 
I  will  tell  you  what  you  must  do:  You  must  come  to  me 
with  your  women  and  children,  and  everything  you  have, 
and  lay  them  at  my  feet;  you  must  put  your  faith  in  me  and 
trust  to  my  mercy.  If  you  do  this,  I  shall  then  dictate  the 
terms  upon  which  I  will  grant  you  peace.  If  you  do  not  do 
this,  war  will  be  made  upon  you  this  year  and  next,  and 
until  your  nation  shall  be  exterminated. 

I  told  Garry  that  he  could  go  and  say  to  all  the  Indians 
that  he  might  fall  in  with  what  I  had  said,  and  also  to  say 
that  if  they  did  as  I  demanded,  no  life  should  be  taken. 
Garry  promised  to  join  me  the  following  (yesterday)  morn 
ing  on  the  march. 

After  my  interview  with  Garry,  the  chief  Polotkin,  with 


nine  warriors  approached  and  desired  an  interview.  I 
received  them.  I  found  that  this  chief  was  the  writer  of 
one  of  the  three  letters  sent  to  you  by  Congiato;  that  he 
had  been  conspicuous  in  the  affair  with  Colonel  Steptoe, 
and  was  the  leader  in  the  battles  of  the  1st  and  5th  instant 
with  us;  they  had  left  their  rifles  on  the  opposite  b^nk. 
I  desired  the  chief  and  warriors  to  sit  still  while  two  of 
his  men  were  sent  over  to  bring  me  the  rifles. 

I  then  told  this  chief  that  I  desired  him  to  remain  witn 
me,  with  one  of  his  men  whom  we  recognized  as  having 
been  lately  at  Walla  Walla  with  Father  Ravelle,  and  who 
was  strongly  suspected  with  having  been  engaged  in  the 
murder  of  the  miners  in  April  last.  I  told  the  chief  I 
wished  him  to  send  his  other  men,  and  bring  in  all  of  them, 
with  their  arms  and  families. 

I  marched  at  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  and  at 
the  distance  of  nine  miles  discovered  a  cloud  of  dust  in  the 
mountains  to  the  front  and  right,  and  evidently  a  great 
commotion  in  that  quarter.  I  closed  up  the  train  and  left 
it  guarded  by  a  troop  of  horses  and  two  companies  of  foot; 
and  then  I  ordered  Major  Grier  to  push  rapidly  forward 
with  three  companies  of  dragoons,  and  I  followed  with  the 
foot  troops. 

The  distance  proved  greater  than  we  expected,  deep 
ravines  intervening  between  us  and  the  mountains,  but 
the  dragoons  and  the  Nez  Perces  under  Lieutenant  Mullan 
were  soon  seen  passing  over  the  first  hills. 

The  Indians  were  driving  off  their  stock,  and  had  gone 
so  far  into  the  mountains  that  our  horsemen  had  to  dis 
mount,  and,  after  a  smart  skirmish,  succeeded  in  captur 
ing  at  least  eight  hundred  horses;  and  when  the  foot  troops 
had  passed  over  the  first  mountain,  the  captured  animals 
were  seen  approaching  under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant 
Davidson,  with  his  men  on  foot,  and  the  Nez  Perces. 

The  troops  were  then  reformed  and  moved  to  this  camp, 
I  having  previously  sent  an  express  to  the  pack  train  to 
advance  along  the  river. 

After  encamping  last  evening  I  investigated  the  case  of 
the  two  miners;  the  fact  of  his  guilt  was  established  beyond 
doubt  and  he  was  hung  at  sunset. 

After  sunset  last  evening  I  sent  two  companies  of  foot 
and  a  troop  of  horse  soldiers  three  miles  up  the  river  to 
capture  a  herd  of  cattle,  but  they  were  so  wild  that  it  was 
found  impossible  to  drive  them  in.  Another  attempt  was 
made  this  morning,  but  they  could  not  be  obtained. 

It  turned  out  that  this  slaughter  of  Til-co-ax's  horses  was 
the  crisis  of  the  campaign.  Beaten  in  two  fights  the  Indians 
now  saw  the  coming  destruction  of  their  most  valued  prop 
erty,  for  an  unmounted  Indian  was  no  warrior.  From  the 
heights  of  the  surrounding  hills  the  sentinels  were  dumb 
founded  witnesses  to  the  cruelty  of  the  invading  whites.  Gone 
glimmering  was  their  hope  of  stampeding  the  entire  train  and 
recovering  their  own  horses  and  perhaps  obtaining  those  of 
the  soldiers,  who  then  might  be  disposed  of  when  circum 
stances  favored.  The  slaughter  of  the  horses  was  an  argument 
that  the  logic  of  an  Indian  could  not  withstand. 

In  their  extremity,  they  appealed  to  Father  Joset,  who  sent 
Big  Star  with  a  note  to  Colonel  Wright,  suing  for  peace  on 
behalf  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.BigStar's  visit  to  the  shambles 
conveyed  the  first  authoritative  news  that  the  backbone  of  the 
hostilities  had  been  broken. 


70 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


Mullan  records  that  the  lake  on  the  shores  of  which  the 
horses  were  captured  was  named  in  honor  of  Major  Grier. 
This  name  has  been  lost  to  history  because  there  were  no 
white  settlers  in  the  region  to  hand  it  on.  The  lake  was  named 
for  Stephen  Liberty,  the  first  settler  to  locate  on  its  shores. 
Liberty  was  a  native  of  Quebec,  one  of  those  daring  spirits 
whose  early  days  were  intimately  associated  with  opening  the 
entire  stretch  of  country  between  Lake  Superior  and  the  west 
ern  ranges  of  the  Rockies.  Originally  educated  for  the  priest 
hood,  the  blood  of  the  French  adventurer  rather  than  the  blood 
of  the  priest  of  Frenchorders  asserted  itself.  In  1866  he  was 
crossing  the  broad  prairies  of  the  Dakotas  guiding  a  caval 
cade  of  silver  seekers  bound  for  the  mountains  about  Helena, 
one  of  whom  was  the  late  Judge  W.E.  Cullon,  long  prominent 
in  Montana  legal  and  political  battles.  In  Helena  Liberty  fell 
in  with  the  Clarks,  ex  United  States  Senator  W.A.  Clark  and 
brother.  With  them  Liberty  contracted  to  deliver  express 
and  mail  between  Helena  and  Cabinet  Landing,  on  the  Pend 
Oreille  river.  Coming  west  on  one  of  his  trips,  as  far  as 
the  settlement  then,  as  now,  called  Rathdrum,  he  married  a 
native  woman,  and  in  1871  made  his  home  by  the  lake  to  which 
he  has  given  his  name.  A  close  friend  of  Saltese,  the  chief  of 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  Liberty  was  given  land  on  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  reservation  by  tribal  rite  and  he  is  now  a  prosperous 
farmer. 

It  was  not  cruelty  or  a  wanton  spirit  which  prompted  Col 
onel  Wright  to  order  the  destruction  of  the  horses.  It  was  one 
of  the  stern  realities  of  war.  Should  an  attempt  be  made  to 
preserve  the  animals,  the  acquisition  meant  more  than 
doubling  the  number  of  horses  to  be  cared  for.  Should  the 
Indian  provoke  a  stampede  under  cover  of  darkness,  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  troops  to  keep  them  under  control,  and 
government  horses  might  get  away.  It  was  not  until  after 
consultation  with  his  officers  that  the  slaughter  was  ordered. 

"Two  companies  were  ordered  out  to  perform  this  duty," 
recites  Kip.  "A  corral  (enclosure)  was  first  made,  into  which 
they  were  all  driven.  Then  one  by  one,  they  were  lassoed  and 
dragged  out,  and  dispatched  by  a  single  shot.  About  270  were 
killed  in  this  way.  The  colts  were  led  out  and  knocked  in  the 
head.  It  was  distressing  during  all  the  following  night  to  hear 
the  cries  of  the  brood  mares  whose  young  had  thus  been  taken 
from  them.  On  the  following  day,  to  avoid  the  slow  process  of 
killing  them  separately,  the  companies  were  ordered  to  fire 
volleys  into  the  corral." 

The  incident  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  the  soldiers 
themselves.  Both  General  Morgan  and  General  Dandy  mention 
the  incident  in  their  reminiscences,  contained  in  subsequent 
chapters. 

It  has  never  been  difficult  to  locate  the  site  of  this  camp. 
The  visitor  today  may  find  some  of  the  bones  of  Til-co-ax's 
ponies.  Inter-urban  electric  trains  whirr  close  by  the  spot. 
Many  years  ago,  under  the  timber  culture  act,  Samuel  Walton 
set  out  a  grove  of  trees  there.  Early  settlers  found  the  spot  a 
veritable  mine  of  calcareous  matter  and  wagon  load  after 
wagon  load  was  taken  away  by  the  farmers,  to  reappear  later 
in  the  modified  form  of  eggshells  on  the  tables  of  the  host- 
lieries  and  restaurants  of  the  growing  city  of  Spokane. 

The  arrival  of  Big  Star,  with  the  message  of  Father  Joset, 
eliminated  from  the  mind  of  Colonel  Wright  all  thought  of 
marching  to  Colville.  The  foundation  of  Kamiahkin's  struc 
ture  of  resistance  to  the  United  States  was  crumbling.  Garry 


and  the  Spokanes  had  expressed  a  desire  for  peace;  and  now, 
the  tribe  from  which  had  expected  the  most  stubborn  resist 
ance,  the  hardy  tribe  of  the  mountains,  had  read  futility  in 
the  slaughter  of  the  ponies  of  a  Palouse  chiefs. 
Resuming  Mullan's  notes  from  the  morning  of  the  9th: 

"Travelling  six  miles  from  our  camp  of  yesterday,  we 
reached  a  ford,  though  deep.  Here  we  halted  and  encamped 
on  the  left  bank  and,  owing  to  circumstances  that  developed 
themselves  at  this  point,  the  colonel  determined  not  to 
cross  the  river  here,  but  to  continue  for  some  miles  above 
to  a  second  ford,  which  was  better,  and  the  wisdom  of  his 
course  the  next  day  was  shown;  for,  having  started  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  September  across  the  beau 
tiful  plain  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Spokane,  which  is  here 
in  fact  only  a  portion  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  prairie  proper, 
it  being  divided  by  the  course  of  the  Spokane  River,  he 
came  upon  and  overtook  a  camp  which,  with  their  large 
bands  of  stock,  were  fleeing  to  the  mountains. 

After  a  pursuit  of  eight  miles  and  a  slight  skirmish,; 
the  Indians  were  made  to  fly,  leaving  behind  them  some 
nine  hundred  horses  and  a  number  of  stock.  These  last 
were  taken  without  loss  or  incident.  This  occurred  at  a 
small  lake  in  the  prairie  south  of  the  Spokane  River,  which 
lake  in  honor  of  the  veteran  whose  services  here  as  else 
where  during  the  campaign  were  so  marked  and  brilliant, 
we  called  Lake  Grier. 

The  command,  moving  towards  the  Spokane  river  from 
Lake  Grier,  encamped  upon  its  left  bank  for  the  night, 
after  a  march  of  fourteen  and  a  half  miles,  finding  good 
grass,  wood  and  water. 

It  becoming  necessary  to  remain  in  camp  the  10th  and 
llth  of  September,  we  built  a  corral  in  which  to  kill  the 
large  band  of  horses  captured  from  the  enemy.  It  was  not 
our  desire  to  keep  any,  except  a  few  of  the  best  for  packing 
and  riding  purposes,  as  this  large  band  would  only  encum 
ber  us;  but  as  our  desire  was  to  strike  a  blow  that  should 
teach  the  Indians  a  never-to-be-forgotten  lesson,  it  was 
decided  to  kill  them.  So,  driving  them  in  a  corral,  eight 
hundred  beautiful  animals  were  shot,  in  addition  to  a 
number  of  horned  stock  captured  from  the  enemy,  together 
with  burning  a  number  of  dwellings  and  barns  of  grain. 

The  formal  report  of  Colonel  Wright,  touching  the  occur- 
ences  of  the  10th,  is  as  follows: 

Sir:  I  have  this  morning  received  a  dispatch  from  Father 
Joset,  at  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission.  He  says  that  the  hos- 
tiles  are  down  and  suing  for  peace;  that  there  was  great 
rejoicing  among  the  friendly  Indians  when  they  heard  of 
our  two  victories  over  the  hostiles;  had  we  been  defeated 
all  those  who  did  not  join  the  hostiles  would  have  been 
sacrificed. 

I  have  just  sent  off  Father  Josefs  messenger.  I  said  to 
the  father  that  he  could  say  to  those  who  had  not  been  en 
gaged  in  this  war  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear that 

they  should  remain  quiet,  with  their  women  and  children 
around  them;  to  say  to  all  Indians,  whether  Coeur  d'Alenes 
or  belonging  to  other  tribes,  that  if  they  are  sincere  and 
truly  desire  lasting  peace,  they  must  all  come  to  me  with 
their  guns,  with  their  families  and  all  that  they  have,  and 
trust  entirely  to  my  mercy;  that  I  promise  only  that  no 
life  shall  be  taken  for  acts  committed  during  the  war.  I 


IN  THE  SPOKANE  VALLEY 


71 


will  tell  them  what  I  do  require  before  I  grant  them  peace. 
I  found  myself  embarassed  with  those  800  horses.  I 
could  not  hazard  the  experiment  of  moving  with  such  a 
large  number  of  animals  (many  of  them  very  wild)  along 
with  my  large  train;  should  a  stampede  take  place,  we 
might  not  only  lose  our  captured  animals,  but  may  of  our 
own.  Under  those  circumstances,  I  determined  to  kill  them 


all,  save  a  few  for  service  in  the  quartermaster's  depart 
ment  and  to  replace  broken  down  animals.  I  deeply  regret 
ted  killing  these  poor  creatures,  but  a  dire  necessity 
drove  me  to  it.  This  work  of  slaughter  has  been  going  on 
since  10  o'clock  of  yesterday,  and  will  not  be  completed 
before  this  evening,  and  I  shall  march  for  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  mission  tomorrow. 


72 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


18 


With  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 


All  now  seemed  tentatively  ripe  for  the  conclusion  of 
treaties,  but  the  stern  and  uncompromising  commander  to 
whom  has  been  given  specific  instructions  did  not  take  so 
roseate  a  view  of  the  situation  as  to  accept  the  expressed 
will  for  the  actual  deed.  Consequently  his  journey  into  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  mountains  was  "marked  by  slaughter  and 
devastation."  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  wit 
nessing  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  hoards  of  grain  and 
vegetables  they  had  gathered  on  the  prairie  near  the  outlet 
of  the  lake,  shuddered  as  they  saw  the  approach  of  that 
devastating  column  in  blue.  Some  huddled  abjectly  beneath  the 
shelter  of  the  Jesuit  mission;  others  scattered  like  a  covey 
of  quail  to  the  dells  and  glens  of  the  forest  covered  moun 
tains. 


might  have  any  possible  bearing  on  his  road.  Indeed,  from 
the  ford  near  the  camp  of  the  dismal  name  to  the  Jesuit 
mission  in  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mountains,  he  later  laid  his 
road  over  the  route  passed  by  the  Wright  expedition.  Sherman 
street,  the  main  thoroughfare  of  Coeur  d'Alene  City  is  but 
part  of  the  Fort  Benton  road  along  which  the  earliest  set 
tlers  of  the  city  by  the  lake  erected  their  first  habitations. 
So  up  Wolf's  Lodge  creek  and  down  Fourth  of  July  Canyon 
passed  the  troops,  to  be  followed  later  by  Mullan's  surveying 
party  and  still  later  by  another  surveying  party,  preliminary 
to  stringing  the  wires  of  an  electrical  power  transmission 
line  between  the  falls  of  the  Spokane  and  the  mines  of  the 
Coeur  d'Alenes.  This  later  party  found  on  the  top  of  the 
divide  a  giant  of  the  forest  bearing  upon  its  scarred  side  the 


This  farm  is  situated  on  the  site  of  "Horse  Slaughter  Camp' 


Leisurely,  but  with  open-eyed  vigilance,  the  colonel  pro 
ceeded  from  "Horse  Slaughter  camp."  Engineer  Mullan was 
constantly  on  the  lookout  for  any  bits  of  information  which 


blazed  legend,  cut  deep  through  the  bark,  by  Mullan's  men  in 
commemoration  of  their  arrival  there  at  the  head  of  the  can 
yon  on  Independence  day  of  1861. 


73 


Fort  Benton 

The  indefatigable  eye  of  the  engineer  took  note  of  the 
cataract  in  the  Spokane  river  twelve  miles  below  the  outlet 
of  the  lake,  now  known  as  Post  Falls,  as  also  the  town  which 
has  grown  up  around  them.  When  Frederick  Post,  a  native  of 
Germany,  first  began  to  operate  a  mill  by  the  power  of  the 
descending  water,  the  Coeurd'Alene  tribe,  through  some  now 
forgotten  sentiment,  lay  claim  to  possession  of  the  falls. 
During  the  misunderstandings  which  arose,  Mr.  Post  kept 
on  the  friendly  side  of  the  natives  and  many  a  time  earned 
their  gratitude  by  gifts  of  provisions  and  other  kindly  acts. 
In  still  later  years,  when  the  government  was  negotiating  the 
treaty  by  which  the  Coeur  d' Alenes  were  to  be  placed  upon 


FREDERICK  POST,  WHO  BUILT 

THE  FIRST   FLOUR  MILL 

IN  SPOKANE 


the  reservation  they  now  occupy,  the  chiefs  remembered  the 
favors  done  them  by  Mr.  Post  and  made  a  condition  of  the 
agreement  that  the  ownership  of  the  falls  should  rest  in  Mr. 
Post.  He  has  sold  his  interest  to  a  corporation  which  has 
harnessed  the  "beautiful  sheet  of  white  foam"  to  electric 
generators. 


In  the  rapid  mutations  of  half  a  century,  engineers  of  the 
extreme  periods  have  opposite  ideas  as  to  their  utility.  Mul- 
lan,  always  wide  awake  and  given  to  peering  into  the  future, 
considered  the  ledge  of  rock  over  which  the  waters  of  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  basin  descend  as  an  obstruction  which  resulted 
in  the  inumdation  of  rich  land  along  the  Couer  d'Alene  and  St. 
Joseph  River.  He  recommended  blasting  the  rock  out,  that  the 
level  of  the  lake  and  its  tributaries  might  be  lowered  and  sub 
merged  ground  be  capable  of  producing  crops.  "When  the  day 
comes,"  he  commented,  that  this  mountain  region  shall  be 
come  thickly  populated,  then  probably  an  improvement  of  this 
character  will  become  imperative."  But  Mullan  counted  not 
upon  electricity  as  a  powerful  factor  in  the  commercial 
world.  He  saw  no  further  than  any  man  of  his  time.  Electri 
city  has  made  advances  as  subtle  and  as  subversive  as  is 
the  fluid  itself. 

That  rock  has  never  been  blasted  and  the  lands  never 
drained.  Instead  a  dam  has  been  constructed  which  backs  the 
water  further  up  along  the  shores  of  the  lake,  and  the  lands 
of  whose  release  from  submersion  Mullan  thought  so  kindly 
are  deeper  under  water  than  ever.  The  landowners  along  the 
lakeside  and  by  the  waters  of  the  sluggish  Couer  d'Alene  and 
St.  Joseph  rivers,  have  brought  litigation  in  the  courts  by  rea 
son  of  the  demands  of  electricity,  and  some  day  there  will 
come  a  decree  from  the  bench  of  justice  announcing  whether 
that  rock  and  its  superimposed  dam  will  have  to  pay  for  dam 
ages  to  farm  land  miles  away  at  the  head  of  Lake  Coeur  d* 
Alene;  and  the  corporation  which  placed  the  dam  there  will 
pay  the  damages  if  need  be,  and  once  again  will  the  age  of 
electricity  insistently  thrust  its  demands  deeper  into  the  field 
of  natural  resourses  as  they  lie  farther  and  farther  among  the 
fastnesses  of  the  mountain  country. 

Mullan's  observations  of  the  trip  between  the  ford  near  the 
present  Spokane  Bridge  to  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission  are 
embodied  in  the  following: 

Here  we  received  notification  of  the  friendship  of  the 
people  of  Big  Star.  The  Coeur  d' Alenes  having  found  them 
selves  vanquished,  now  sued  for  peace  through  Father 
Joset,  one  of  the  Jesuit  priests  at  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
mission.  This  and  other  things  determined  the  Colonel 
upon  his  next  line  of  direction,  which  was  to  cross  the 
Spokane  at  its  upper  ford  on  the  morning  of  the  llth,  and 
continue  along  its  right  bank  to  the  Coeur  d'Alene  lake. 
This  led  us  over  an  easy  prairie  road  for  two  and  a  half 
miles,  where  the  road  forked,  one  leading  across  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  prairie  to  the  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Columbia, 
and  the  other  through  the  open  pine  timber  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  Spokane  River. 

Taking  this  last  and  travelling  thirteen  and  one  half 
miles,  we  reached  the  western  end  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
lake,  passing  at  a  few  points  small  patches  of  prairie 
sufficient  for  camping  purposes.  About  twelve  miles  be 
low  the  lake  the  river  makes  another  fall,  passing  through 
a  deep  and  narrow  rocky  gorge  some  thirty  yards  wide,  in 
a  beautiful  sheet  of  white  foam.  Below  this  point  it  flows 
sluggishly  for  a  number  of  miles.  This  is  the  case  above 
the  falls,  forming  here  almost  a  continuation  of  the  lake. 

On  our  route  the  river  was  hidden  from  view  for  seven 
miles,  when  we  struck  it  again  at  some  Indian  fields, 
burning  here  also  two  or  three  barns  of  wheat,  thus  mark 
ing  our  lines  by  signs,  the  intent  of  which,  the  Indians 


74 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


Coeur  d'Alene  Mission 


could  not  mistake.  From  these  fields  to  the  lake  was  four 
miles,  when,  reaching  a  small  prairie  bottom,  with  sparse 
grass,  we  encamped  for  the  night  in  the  edge  of  the  pine 
forest.  We  passed  along  the  route  a  small  Indian  burial 
ground,  where  the  marks  of  civilized  and  Christian  in 
fluence  were  shown  by  the  number  of  crosses  erected  over 
the  graves;  and  though  our  march  was  one  of  devastation 
through  the  country,  we  left  unharmed  and  untouched  where 
reposed  the  lifeless  dead. 

Up  to  the  end  of  the  lake  we  had  run  our  odometer  line 
continuously  from  Fort  Dalles  without  accident  to  our 
wagon,  though  it  has  passed  through  some  ugly  and  diffi 
cult  places;  but  by  the  uniform  kindness  of  Captain  Keyes 
and  Dent,  who  often  voluntarily  sent  their  men  to  its  aid 
and  rescue,  we  were  enabled  to  get  it  through  thus  far 
safely.  But  now  we  were  about  to  enter  a  somewhat  diffi 
cult  portion  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mountains,  where  the 
timber  was  thick,  and  where  an  Indian  trail  alone  marked 
the  route,  and  it  was  my  purpose  to  leave  it  at  this  point; 
and  in  case  we  retraced  our  steps,  to  recover  it;  and  in 
case  we  passed  to  the  south  of  the  lake,  we  could  send 
some  friendly  Indians  in  their  canoes  who  taking  it  apart 
could  cross  it,  and  we  be  thus  enabled  to  resume  our  line. 

We  therefore  abandoned  it,  but  the  hostile  Indians 
coming  upon  our  rear  the  next  day,  burnt  it,  and  thus  saved 
any  further  anxiety  in  the  case.  Our  mountain  howitzers, 
under  Lieutenant  White,  that  had  also  run  on  wheels  thus 
far,  had  to  be  packed  on  mules,  leaving  behind  only  a 


prairie  timber,  which  met  with  the  same  fate  as  the 
wagons.  Resuming  our  march  on  the  12th  September,  we 
followed  an  Indian  trail  along  the  Coeur  d'Alene  lake  about 
3l/z  miles,  where  we  began  the  ascent  of  a  high  steep  lime 
stone  mountain,  from  which  at  different  points  were  ex 
posed  large  masses  of  beautiful  marble.  Gaining  the  sum 
mit  of  this  hill  we  enjoyed  a  fine  view  of  this  Coeur 
d'Alene  lake,  which  here  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
three  miles  broad,  with  an  arm  extending  south  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  see.  Immediately  along  the  shores  of  the 
lake  the  water  is  shallow,  with  a  rocky  or  pebbly  bottom, 
the  water,  however,  becoming  deep  at  no  great  distance. 
The  lake  is  bounded  on  every  side  by  high,  rugged,  pine- 
clad  mountains  that  render  the  whole  a  unique  picturesque 
panorama.  Leaving  this  hill,  our  road  passing  alternately 
through  open  pine  forests  and  rugged  undergrowth,  we 
reached  a  small  stream  heading  in  a  spring  along  the  road 
in  a  deep  hollow,  or  ravine,  which  stream  empties  or  flows 
into  a  small  lake,  which  last  is  connected  by  a  small 
stream  with  Coeur  d'Alene  lake. 

Leaving  this  spring,  into  the  forest  about  two  miles,  we 
reached  a  small  beautiful  prairie  covered  with  rich  lux 
uriant  grass,  through  which  flowed  a  considerable  stream 
lined  with  willow;  water  cold  and  flowing  rapidly.  This 
prairie  offered  a  good  camping  ground,  and  is  the  only  one 
between  the  Coeur  d'Alene  lake  and  the  mission.  It 
is  bounded  on  all  sides  by  low  pine  clad  hills  or  mountains, 
and  affords  in  this  immense  bed  of  mountains  a  beautiful 


WITH  THE  COEUR  D'ALENES 


75 


Fort  Dalles  in  1867,  as  photographed  by  Carle- 
ton  E.  Watkins  from  across  the  Columbia 
River. 


resting  place,  where  we  halted  for  the  night.  The  stream 
flowing  through  this  prairie  is  called  the  "Wolfs  lodge 
creek." 

Our  animals  having  enjoyed  at  this  point  a  rich  feed  of 
grass,  in  the  morning  of  the  13th  September,  at  an  early 
hour,  we  resumed  our  march  for  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
Mission,  our  trail  entering  the  pine  forests  along  difficult 
side  hills,  which  we  followed  for  a  distance  of  seven  miles, 
passing  a  small  stream  or  spring  run,  affording  sufficient 
water  for  our  men  and  animals.  The  road  throughout  this 
length  was  much  obstructed  by  fallen  timber. 

Resting  a  short  time  at  the  end  of  these  seven  miles, 
we  resumed  our  march,  still  continuing  along  the  difficult 
side  hills  and  over  fallen  timber,  the  last  portion  being 
along  the  sides  or  edges  of  rocky  limestone,  slate  and 
sandstone  spurs.  At  the  end  of  this  distance  we  were 
repaid  by  the  view  of  the  prairie  where  is  situated  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission.  The  timber 
along  the  road  today  was  not  of  a  large  growth,  but  the 
forests  here  of  fir,  cedar  and  hemlock  are  very  dense 
and  the  strong  winds  of  winter  throwing  down  the  trees 
across  the  pathway,  and  the  natural  indolance  of  the  In 
dians  being  such  as  not  to  allow  them  to  remove  it,  of 
course  it  accumulates  from  year  to  year  so  as  to  from  an 
entangling  network  of  trees,  crossing  and  re-crossing 
each  other  in  every  possible  direction. 

At  sixteen  miles  from  the  "Wolfs  lodge  creek"  we 


reached  the  mission,  which  here  lies  as  a  gem  embosomed 
in  the  mountains  and  gives  evidence  of  the  labors  of  that 
indefatigable  band  of  Jesuit  fathers  who,  braving  all 
dangers  and  surmounting  all  difficulties,  have  gone  forth 
to  the  mountain  fastnessess  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to 
the  benighted  heathen  savage,  as  well  as  to  improve  his 
temporal  condition.  They  have  here  erected  a  large  and 
stately  church,  planned  by  and  mostly  constructed  under 
the  direction  of  the  Reverend  Father  Ravalli,  an  Italian 
and  a  former  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  Jesuit  college 
in  Rome.  Dwellings,  mills,  barns  and  enclosures,  with 
Indian  labor  have  been  made,  and  everything  bespoke  an 
advancement  in  improvement  and  civilization  that  was 
truly  refreshing  to  behold;  all  this,  too,  with  the  most 
scanty  means  and  under  difficulties  before  which  the 
hearts  of  the  bravest  might  truly  quail. 

This  mission  is  in  latitude  47-33-54N,  longitude  116-13- 
54W  approximate  and  built  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  river,  on  a  small  hill  looking  towards  the  north, 
upon  a  ridge  or  spur  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mountains 
running  east  and  west,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  small  but 
beautiful  prairie  one  mile  wide  and  from  two  to  four  long. 
In  this  prairie  are  large  and  rich  fields  enclosed,  where 
wheat,  oats,  barley  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds  grow  in 
the  richest  abundance.  The  mission  was  first  established 
on  the  St.  Joseph's  river;  but,  as  the  valley  overflowed, 


76 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


the  fathers  found  it  necessary  to  remove  to  a  more 
favorable  locality,  and  in  1846  selected  this  site. 

The  Coeurd'Alenes  number  about  500  souls  of  which  130 
are  capable  of  bearing  arms.  During  the  difficulties  of  Col 
onel  Wright  and  Colonel  Steptoe  only  about  90  were  active 
ly  engaged,  the  remainder  being  neutral.  Though  not  num 
erous,  they  are  brave  and  warlike,  and,  ensconced  as  they 
are  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  they  are  capable  of  be 
coming  some  day  ~  unless  measures  are  taken  to  preserve 
their  friendship  -  a  formidable  enemy.  Their  home  is  in 
a  difficult  bed  of  mountains,  and  the  roads  leading  thereto 
are  equally  difficult  to  travel  and,  thus  situated,  they  are 
capable  of  giving  annoyance  to  a  much  larger  force  that 
might  be  arrayed  against  them.  They  have  large  bands  of 
horses  and  horned  stock  that,  living  in  the  fine  grass  of  the 
mountain  valleys,  present  a  fat  sleek  appearance.  These 
Indians  are  industrious,  and  the  fields  of  vegetables  and 
barns  of  grain  all  bespeak  an  advance  beyond  the  Indians 
of  the  plains.  As  a  tribe,  they  are  brave  and  warlike,  but 
kind  and  generous.  They  are  of  an  ordinary  stature,  and  in 
appearance  and  general  characteristics  look  not  unlike 
other  mountain  bands. 

The  "father"  is  truly  their  father.  In  times  of  difficulty 
and  danger  --  in  things  temporal  and  in  things  spiritual  - 
he  is  consulted  as  the  oracle  of  Delphos,  and  his  views, 
judgments  and  decisions  are  nearly  always  followed;  and 
if  not,  they  are  always  made  to  regret  it. 

Previous  to  the  outbreak  and  attack  upon  Colonel  Steptoe 
the  Indians  told  the  fathers  of  their  mood  and  of  their  plans 
they  advised,  cautioned  and  begged  them  to  desist;  but  in 
this  instance  they  followed  the  wild  views  of  a  few  chiefs, 
and  headlong  rushed  into  a  war,  for  which  they  have  been 
made  to  pay  but  a  too  dear  penalty. 

At  10a.m.  of  September  17  the  Indians,  headed  by  their 
chiefs  and  attended  by  Reverend  Father  Joset  and  Mine- 
tree,  were  assembled  beneath  a  council  lodge  prepared 
for  the  occasion  when  their  chief,  Vincent,  asked  to  be 
heard.  Arising,  he  stated  "that  his  people  met  us  in  sad 
ness,  their  hearts  were  sorrowful,  and  their  heads  bent 
down  to  hear  a  condemnation  that  justly  awaited  them;  they 
knew,  they  felt  that  they  had  committed  a  great  crime  -  a 
crime  which  they  truly  repented  of  and  they  now  presented 
themselves  to  abide  by  and  suffer  a  punishment  that  their 
crimes  so  richly  merited." 

His  speech  was  brief  but  impressive,  and  delivered  in 
feeling,  and  in  expressing  his  views  he  expressed  the 
of  all  his  people,  Colonel  Wright  imposed  his  own  condi 
tions  and  made  peace  with  them  on  Ms  own  terms;  they 
willingly  and  apparently  in  sincerity  submitted  to  his 
judgements  and  decisions,  but  the  future  alone  can  tell 
how  faithfully  these  will  be  kept.  During  the  difficulties 
that  now  terminated  so  happily  for  them  and,  possibly, 
for  ourselves,  the  Coeur  d'Alene  shad  taken  an  active,  un- 
expecting  and  unlooked  for  part.  But,  truly,  I  believe  they 
had  been  led  on  step  by  step  to  commit  this  overt  act,  I 
now  judge  them  in  charity,  and  if  in  years  to  come  the 
readers  shall,  glancing  at  these  pages,  find  the  character 
of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  to  have  become  changed,  all  that 
could  be  replied  would  be— "Impute  to  all  and  excell  of 
charitable  credulity." 
That  the  difficulties  of  penetrating  with  a  column  of  troops 


and  the  necessary  pack  train  through  the  mountain  forests 
to  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission  was  no  easy  task,  is  seen  in 
the  official  report  of  Colonel  Wright,  written  on  the  eve 
ning  of  his  arrival  September  15th: 

Sir:  I  marched  from  my  camp  on  the  Spokane  river,  16 
miles  above  the  falls,  on  the  morning  of  the  llth  instant; 
after  fording  the  river  when  I  struck  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
lake  and  encamped.  Resuming  our  march  on  the  12th,  we 
soon  lost  view  of  the  lake  on  our  right  and  struck  into  the 
mountains  with  a  forest  on  either  hand,  and  a  trail  which 
admitted  only  the  passage  of  a  single  man  or  animal  at  a 
time.  After  marching  twelve  miles  I  found  a  small  prairie, 
with  a  fine  running  stream  of  water,  and  encamped. 
Marching  early  on  the  13th  we  found  the  trail  infinitely 
worse  than  that  of  the  previous  day;  passing  through  a 
dense  forest,  with  an  inprenetable  undergrowth  of  bushes 
on  both  sides  and  an  almost  continuous  obstruction  of 
fallen  trees,  our  progress  was  necessarily  slow,  having 
to  halt  frequently  and  cut  away  the  logs  before  our  animals 
could  pass  over.  The  column  and  pack  train  could  only 
move  in  single  file,  and  extended  from  six  to  eight  miles, 
but  it  was  perfectly  safe;  the  front  and  rear  were  strongly 
guarded  and  nature  had  fortified  either  flank.  No  commu 
nication  could  be  had  with  the  head  of  the  column  and  its 
rear,  and  thus  we  followed  this  lonely  trail  for  nineteen 
miles,  to  this  place.  The  rear  of  the  pack  train  with  the 
guards  did  not  reach  here  until  10  o'clock  at  night. 

I  found  the  Indians  here  in  much  alarm  as  to  the  fate 
which  awaited  them,  but  happily  they  are  now  all  quieted. 
Father  Joset  has  been  extremely  zealous  andper  serve  ring 
in  bringing  in  the  hostiles.  They  are  terribly  frightened, 
but  last  evening  and  today  they  are  coming  in  quite  freely 
with  the  women  and  children,  and  turning  over  to  the  quar 
termaster  such  horses,  mules  they  have  belonging  to  the 
United  States. 

The  hostile  Spokanes  have  many  of  them  gone  beyond 
the  mountains  and  will  not  return  this  winter.  The 
Palouses  with  their  Chiefs  Kamiahken  and  Til-co-ax,  are 
not  far  off,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  will  voluntarily 
come  in.  If  they  do  not  I  shall  pursue  them  as  soon  as  I 
can  settle  with  the  Coeur  d'Alenes. 

The  chastisement  which  these  Indians  have  received  has 
been  severe  but  well  merited,  and  absolutely  necessary  to 
impress  them  with  our  power.  For  the  last  eighty  miles 
our  route  has  been  marked  by  slaughter  and  devastation; 
800  horses  and  a  large  number  of  cattle  have  been  killed 
or  appropriated  to  our  own  use;  many  horses,  with  large 
quantities  of  wheat  and  oats,  also  many  caches  of  veg 
etables,  kamas  and  dried  berries,  have  been  destroyed. 
A  blow  has  been  struck  which  they  will  never  forget. 

I  hope  to  march  from  this  place  on  the  18th  or  19th  in 
the  direction  of  Colonel  Steptoe's  battle-ground,  having  in 
view  to  intercept,  if  possible,  the  Pelouses,  and  also  to 
hold  a  meeting  with  several  bands  of  the  Spokanes,  if  they 
can  be  collected. 

The  troops  are  in  fine  health  and  spirits,  I  have  pro 
visions  which  by  economy  and  slight  reduction  of  rations, 
will  last  until  the  5th  of  October.  We  shall  soon  feel  the 
want  of  bootees  very  sensibly.  The  days  are  warm,  but 
ice  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  is  made  every  night 


WITH  THE  COEUR  D'ALENES 


77 


19 


Treaty  Making 


It  required  two  nights  and  a  day  for  the  Jesuit  fathers  to 
collect  the  scattered  members  of  their  tribes,  so  deftly  had 
they  hidden  themselves  in  the  mountain  wilds.  It  is  interest 
ing  to  note  that  Colonel  Wright  entered  upon  his  treaty  nego 
tiations  with  the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  just  forty  years,  within  a 
few  days,  after  he  had  entered  West  Point,  a  cadet  from  the 
Green  Mountain  state. 

Writing  his  report  while  in  camp  on  the  headwaters  of  La- 

tah  creek,  thirty  five  miles  southwest  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 

mission,  at  a  point  now  within  the  borders  of  Spokane  County, 

the  colonel  describes  the  treaty  making  in  this  language. 

On  the  17th  instant  the  entire  Coeur  d'Alene  nation 

having  assembled  at  my  camp  near  the  mission,  I  called 

them  together  in  council,  I  than  stated  to  them  the  cause 

of   my    making  war  upon  them.  I  made  my  demands 

specifically: 

1st,  That  they  should  surrender  to  me  the  men  who 
commenced  the  attack  upon  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe, 
contrary  to  the  orders  of  the  chiefs. 

2nd.  That  they  should  deliver  up  to  me  all  public  or 
private  property  in  their  possession,  whether  that  aban- 
oned  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe,  or  received  from 
an  other  source. 

3rd.  That  they  should  allow  all  white  persons  to  travel 
at  all  times  through  their  country  unmolested. 

4th.  That  as  security  for  their  future  good  behavior, 
they  should  deliver  to  me  one  chief  and  four  men  with 
their  families,  to  be  taken  to  Fort  Walla  Walla. 

After  a  brief  consultation  they  announced  their  deter 
mination  to  comply  with  all  my  demands  in  every 
particular,  in  sincerity  and  good  faith. 

All  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  nation,  with  the  exception  of 
some  six  or  eight  were  present  at  the  council;  and  as  an 
evidence  that  they  had  previously  determined  to  make 
peace  at  any  terms,  they  brought  with  them  their  families 
and  all  the  property  they  had  belonging  to  the  government 
or  to  individuals  ready  and  willing  to  submit  to  such  terms 
as  I  might  dectate. 

The  chiefs  and  headmen  came  forward  and  signed  the 
preliminary  articles  of  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  day  fulfilled  as  far  as  practicable, 
my  demands  by  delivering  up  horses,  mules  and  camp 
equipage. 

The  chiefs  and  headmen  expressed  great  grief  and 
apparently  sincere  repentance  for  this  misconduct,  which 
had  involved  them  in  a  war  with  the  United  States.  I  have 
never  witnessed  such  a  unanimity  fo  feeling  nor  such  man 


ifestations  of  joy  as  was  expressed  by  the  whole  Coeur 
d'Alene  nation,  men,  women  and  children,  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  treaty.  They  know  us,  they  have  felt  our  power, 
and  I  have  full  faith  that  henceforth  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 
will  be  our  staunch  friends. 

I  marched  from  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  mission  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th,  having  with  me  the  prisoners,  hos 
tages  and  many  other  Coeur  d'Alenes  as  guides,  etc.  Our 
route  lay  down  the  right  bank  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  river 
for  thirteen  miles,  where  I  encamped  at  a  point  where  the 
river  has  to  be  ferried.  It  occupied  most  of  the  19th  in 
crossing  the  troops  animals  and  stores,  assisted  by  the 
Indians  with  their  canoes. 

Leaving  camp  on  the  20th,  we  pursued  our  march  still  in 
the  mountains,  and  the  trail  obstructed  by  fallen  trees, 
until  we  struck  the  St.  Joseph  river  at  thirteen  miles  and 
encamped.  Again  we  found  a  river  which  could  not  be 
forded,  and  our  two  boats  and  the  Indian  canoes  were  in 
stantly  called  into  requisition.  By  sunset  the  general 
supply  train  was  crossed,  and  the  recommencing  at  day 
light  this  morning,  by  12  o'clock  the  rear  of  the  column 
was  ready  to  move. 

I  shall  march  tomorrow  for  the  vicinity  of  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Steptoe' s  battle-ground  to  obtain  the  abandoned 
howitzers,  and  in  the  expectation  of  meeting  the  Spokane  s 
and  Pelouses. 

And  examination  of  the  text  of  the  treaty  which  was  for 
warded  by  Colonel  Wright  with  the  foregoing  report,  would 
lead  one  to  the  opinion  that  Colonel  Wright  was  as  magnani 
mous  toward  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  as  the  circumstances  would 
permit.  His  instructions  had  been  specific.  He  had  laid  a 
heavy  hand  on  the  tribe,  as  became  an  officer  sent  to  incul 
cate  a  severe  lesson.  The  treaty  itself  speaks  more  elo 
quently  than  any  comment  upon  it  can:  - 

PRELIMINARY  ARTICLES  OF  A  TREATY  OF 

PEACE    AND    FRIENDSHIP  BETWEEN  THE   UNITED 

STATES  AND  THE  COUER  D'ALENE  INDIANS 

Article  1-  Hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  Indians  shall  cease  from  and  after  this 
date,  September  17, 1858. 

Article  2-  The  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
Indians,  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  whole  nation,  agree  and 
promise  to  surrender  to  the  United  States  all  property  in 
their  possession  belonging  either  to  the  government  or  to 


79 


individuals,  whether  said  property  was  captured  or  aban 
doned  by  the  troops  of  the  United  States. 

Article  3-  The  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
nation,  agree  to  surrender  to  the  United  States  the  men 
who  commenced  the  battle  with  Lieutenant  Colonel  Step- 
toe,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  their  chiefs,  and  also  to 
give  at  least  one  chief  and  four  men,  with  their  families, 
to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  troops  as  hostages  for 
their  future  good  conduct. 

Article  4-  The  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
nation  promise  that  all  white  persons  shall  travel  through 
their  country  unmolested  and  that  no  Indians  hostile  to 
the  United  states  shall  be  allowed  within  the  limits  of 
their  country. 

Article  5  -  The  officer  in  command  of  the  United  States 
troops  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  government,  promises  that 
if  the  foregoing  conditions  are  fully  complied  with  no  war 
shall  be  made  upon  the  Coeur  d'Alene  nation:  and  further 
that  the  men  who  are  to  be  surrendered,  whether  those 
who  commenced  the  fight  with  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe 
or  as  hostages  for  the  future  good  conduct  of  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  nation,  shall  in  nowise  be  injured,  and  shall,  with 
in  one  year  from  the  date  hereof,  be  restored  to  their  na 
tion. 

Article  6  -  It  is  agreed  by  both  of  the  aforesaid  con 
tracting  parties  that  when  the  foregoing  articles  shall  have 
been  fully  conplied  with,  a  permanent  treaty  of  peace  and 
friendship  shall  extend  also  to  include  the  Nez  Perce  na 
tion  of  Indians. 

Done  at  the  headquarters  of  the  expedition  against  north 
ern  Indians  at  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission,  Washington 
Territory,  the  17th  day  of  September  1858. 

G.  Wright, 

Colonel  9th  Infantry,  commanding 

Paul. 

Bonaventure. 

Cassimere. 

Bernard. 

Mil-kap-si 
Sal-tize 
Vincent 
Joseph 

Jean  Pierre  Anthony 

Pierre  Pauline  Leo 

Louis  Margeni  Patricia 

Cyproani  Pierre 

Augustin  Jean  Piere 

WITNESSES 

E.  D.  Keyes,  Captain  3rd  Artillery 

W.  N.  Grier,  Brevet  Major  United  States  Army 

R.   W.   Kirkham,  Captain  and  Assistant  Quartermaster 

F.  T.  Dent,  Captain  9th  Infantry 
C.  S.  Winder,  Captain  9th  Infantry 

J.  F.  Hammond,  Assistant  Surgeon  United  States  Army 

Jas.  A.  Hardie,  Captain  Artillery 

R.  O.  Tyler,  1st  Lieutenant  3rd  Artillery 

H.  G.  Gibson,  1st  Lieutenant  3rd  Artillery 

Jno.  F.  Randolph,  Assistant  Surgeon  United  States  Army 

H.  B.  Davidson,  1st  Lieutenant  1st  Dragoons. 

W.  D.  Pender,  End  Lieutenant  1st  Dragoons. 


To  the  civilian  mind,  unused  to  the  punctiliousness  of  the 
military,  perusal  of  the  foregoing  treaty  and  comparison  with 
the  instruction  given  to  Colonel  Wright  would  suggest  work 
well  performed.  At  this  period  of  time  it  would  seem  mere 
cavilling  for  General  Clarke  to  make  implied  criticism  of  the 
terms  of  the  treaty.  But  when  the  document  was  received  at 
army  headquarters  it  bore  across  its  face  this  endorsement: 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Pacific 
Fort  Vancouver,  W.  T.  October  7th,  1858 

The  5th  article  in  this  treaty  is  disapproved,  in  so  far 
as  it  accepts  a  conditional  surrender  of  those  Indians 
guilty  of  commencing  the  attack  on  the  troops. 

An  unconditional  surrender  was  demanded  by  me  before 
the  troops  were  sent  into  the  field;  less  should  not  have 
been  accepted  afterwards. 

A  surrender  of  the  guilty  conditioned  on  their  immunity 
from  punishment  is  futile. 

It  is  now  to  late  to  repair  the  error;  the  prisoners  are 
but  hostages  and  as  such  will  be  kept  as  long  as  it  may  be 
proper  to  do  so. 

The  agreement  to  admit  troops  and  citizens  to  pass 
through  the  country  had  better  have  been  a  demand  than  a 
part  of  the  treaty  but  this  matters  not  much,  as  we  have 
the  substance. 
N.  S.  Clarke 

Colonel  6th  Infantry,  Brevet  Brigadier  General, 
commanding. 

One  need  but  glance  at  the  names  of  the  Indian  signers  — 
in  reality  they  merely  fixed  their  mark  -  to  obtain  eloquent 
comment  on  the  influence  of  the  Jesuit  fathers.  The  mission 
had  been  originally  established  on  the  St.  Joseph  river  in 
1842  by  Fathers  Ravalli  and  Joset,  but  experience  of  our 
years  with  spring  freshets  inundating  their  crops,  caused  the 
removal  to  the  Coeur  d'Alene  valley,  where  the  institution  re 
mains  to  this  day. 

During  the  stay  of  the  troops  at  the  mission,  the  officers 
had  leisure  for  obtaining  interesting  information.  Adjutant 
Kip  picked  up  a  bit  which  was  even  then  history.  His  journal, 
written  while  at  the  mission  contained  the  following: 

We  find,  from  conversing  with  the  Indians,  what  was  the 
system  of  tactics  they  had  arranged  for  the  campaign. 
They  expected  to  be  attacked  first  by  the  dragoons,  whom 
they  intended  to  fight  as  they  did  Colonel  Steptoe,  and  ex 
pected  the  same  results.  To  this  purpose  they  devoted 
their  powder  and  ball.  Having  disposed  of  the  dragoons, 
they  would  have  the  infantry  in  their  power,  cut  off  from 
all  succor  in  the  midst  of  hostile  country.  They  were  then 
to  keep  riding  around  them,  as  they  would  have  far  outnum 
bered  them,  and  shooting  them  with  their  arrows. 

They  well  knew,  too,  that  their  first  success  against 
our  force  would  have  doubled  their  numbers.  Indian  run 
ners  would  at  once  have  spread  the  news  throughout  the 
country,  the  wavering  and  undecided  would  have  cast  their 
lot  with  them,  warriors  from  the  most  distant  tribes  would 
have  hurried  to  share  in  the  spoil,  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
mountains  we  would  have  had  on  our  hands  a  war  of  ex 
termination  of  the  whites. 

The  long  range  rifles  upset  thisbeautiful  scheme.  They 
expected  they  told  us,  that  as  soon  as  the  infantry  fired 


80 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


they  would  retire  and  load  again.  They  would  keep  this  up. 
They  were  very  much  surprised  therefore,  to  see  them 
advance  all  the  time,  keeping  up  a  steady  and  uninterrup 
ted  fire.  They  compared  the  soldiers  to  bears— advancing 
always  to  the  spot  where  they  fell,  instead  of  retiring. 

A  very  curious,  almost  ludicrous  consideration  exerted  an 
influence  over  the  Indians  and  to  their  bewildered  and  super 
stitious  minds  seemed  portentous.  It  seemed  to  the  native 
intellect  that  not  only  were  the  blue  coats  and  long  range 
rifles  begotten  of  the  evil  spirit,  but  that  the  very  heavens 
were  in  league  with  the  invaders.  Kip  records  the  circum 
stances  as  follows: 

In  the  beginning  of  September  Donati's  comet  appeared, 
and  night  after  night  it  has  been  seen  streaming  above 
us  in  all  its  glory.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  has 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  over  the  Indians  in  our 
behalf.  Appearing  just  as  we  entered  the  country,  it 
seemed  to  them  like  some  huge  besom  to  sweep  them 
from  the  earth.  The  effect  was  probably  increased  by  the 
fact  that  it  disappeared  about  the  time  our  campaign 
ended  and  our  treaties  were  formed.  They  must  have 
imagined  that  it  has  been  sent  home  to  their  Great 
Father  in  Washington,  to  be  put  away  until  required 
next  time. 

It  was  at  this  camp  on  the  Ned-Whauldor  Lahtoo,  the  pre 
sent  Latah  Creek  that  the  treaty  with  the  Spokane s  was  made. 
In  fact  Garry,  Pohlatkin  and  the  sub-chiefs  were  waiting  when 
the  column  arrived.  The  formalities  of  the  council  were  very 
similar  to  that  with  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.  The  treaty  negotiated 
contained  the  identical  terms.  Folio  wing  is  the  list  of  signers. 
All  being  marked  with  an  "X",  save  those  of  Pohlatkin  and 
Garry,  who  were  of  sufficient  education  to  sign  their  names. 

Pohlatkin  Its-she-mon-me 

Spokane  Garry  It-tem-mon-nee 

Skul-hull  It-tem-mee-khh  (son  of  Pohlatkin) 

Moist-turm  Schil-cha-hun- 

Ski-ki-ah-men  Meh-mah-icht-such 

She-luh-ki-its-ze  Be-holt 


Mol-mil-e-muh 

Ki-ah-mene 

Hoh-hoh-mee 

Huse-tesh-him-high 

Nul-shil-she-hil-sote 

Che-lah-hom-sko 

Hit-sute-tah 

Keh-ko 

Qualt-til-tose-sum 

Chey-yal-kote 

Quoi-quoi-yow 

In-sko-me-any 


So-var-ole-kim 
Se-may-koh-lee 
Sil-so-tee-chee 
See-che-bue 
Ko-lim-chin 
Ho-ho-mish 
Ski-ime 

Se-ra-min-home 
We-yil-sho 
Che  nee-yah 
Sho-moh-it-kan 
Quoit-quoit-il-n 
It  was  during  this  council  that  Milkapsi  appeared.  He  had 
been  absent  when  the  Coeur  d'Alene  treaty  was  signed,  having 
hidden  until  he  received  information  as  to  what  transpired. 
Then  he  made  haste  to  fall  into  line  and  travelled  all  the  way 
from  the  mission  to  take  his  seat  in  the  band  wagon.  He  was 
not  allowed  to  place  his  mark  on  the  document  until  after  a 
complete  understanding  had  passed.  Colonel  Wright  took  oc 
casion  before  the  whole  council  to  remind  him  of  the  part  he 
played  in  precipitating  the  attack  on  the  Steptoe  column  and 
alluded  in  no  mincing  terms  to  the  defiant  tone  of  the  letter 
he  sent  through  the  priest  to  General  Clarke  during  the  sum 
mer.  Not  until  then  was  he  permitted  to  put  his  name  to  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  treaty. 

In  closing  the  communication  to  General  Clarke  in  which 
he  sent  forward  the  treaties,  Colonel  Wright  took  occasion  to 
record  his  obligation  to  Father  Joset  for  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of  peace,  in  the  following  language: 

I  cannot  close  this  communication  without  expressing 
my  thanks  to  Father  Joset,  the  superior  of  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  mission  for  his  zealous  and  unwearied  exer 
tions  in  bringing  all  these  Indians  to  an  understanding 
of  their  true  position.  For  ten  days  and  nights  the  Father 
has  toiled  incessantly,  and  only  left  us  this  morning  after 
witnessing  the  fruition  of  all  his  labors. 
It  was  also  from  this  camp  that  the  detachment  was  sent 
to  the  Steptoe  battlefield,  the  details  of  which  trip  have  al 
ready  appeared  in  a  former  chapter. 


TREATY  MAKING 


81 


20 


Executions  at  Hangman  Creek 


Headquarters  Expedition  Against 
Northern  Indians,  Camp  on  the  NedWhauld 
(Lahtoo)  River,  W.  T., 
September  24th,  1858 

At  sunset  last  evening  the  Yakima  chief,  Ow-hi,  pre 
sented  himself  before  me.  He  came  from  the  lower  Spok 
ane  river,  and  told  me  that  he  had  left  his  son,  Qualchew, 
at  that  place. 

I  had  some  dealings  with  this  chief,  Ow-hi,  when  I  was 
on  my  Yakima  campaign  in  1858.  He  came  to  me  when  I 
was  encamped  on  the  Nahchess  river,  and  expressed  great 
anxiety  for  peace,  and  promised  to  bring  in  all  his  people 
at  the  end  of  seven  days.  He  did  not  keep  his  word,  but, 
fled  over  the  mountains.  I  pursued  him,  and  he  left  that 
country.  I  have  never  seen  him  from  that  time  until  last 
evening.  In  all  this  time  he  has  been  considered  as  semi- 
hostile,  and  no  reliance  could  be  placed  upon  him. 

This  man  Qualchew,  spoken  of  above,  is  the  son  of  Ow- 
hi.  His  history,  for  three  years  past,  is  too  well  known  to 
need  recapitulation  here.  He  has  been  actively  engaged  in 
all  the  murders,  robberies  and  attacks  upon  the  white 
people  since  1855,  both  east  and  west  of  the  Cascade 
mountains.  He  was  with  the  party  who  attacked  the  miners 
on  the  Wen-at-che  river  in  June  last,  and  was  severly 
wounded;  but  recovering  rapidly  he  had  since  been 
committing  assults  on  our  people  whenever  an  opportunity 
offered. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  was  very  desirous  of 
getting  Qualchew  in  my  power.  I  seized  Ow-hi  and  put  him 
in  irons.  I  then  sent  a  messenger  for  Qualchew,  desiring 
his  presence  forwith  with  notice  that  if  he  did  not  come  I 
would  hang  Ow-hi. 

Qualchew  came  to  me  at  9  o'clock  and  at  9:15  A.M.  he 
was  hung. 

In  such  cold  and  businesslike  language  does  Colonel  Wright 
communicate  to  his  superiors  the  information  that  the  in 
famous  career  of  the  notorious  Qualchian,  the  most  dreaded 
marauder  in  all  the  Pacific  Northwest,  was  at  an  end,  and 
that  his  scarecely  less  execrated  father  was  in  military  cus 
tody. 

Owhi  was  a  half  brother  of  Kamiahkin  and  no  less  crafty, 
while  he  measured  well  up  to  the  reputation  of  Qualchian. 
These  two  chiefs  were  among  those  driven  out  of  the  country 
west  of  the  Columbia  by  Major  Garnett.  It  was  generally 
understood  that  Qualchian  was  the  actual  murderer  of  Agent 


Bolan.  Bancroft,  in  his  history  of  Washington,  states  that 
Bolan  was  killed  by  orders  of  Kamiahkin  and  by  the  hand  of 
his  nephew,  a  son  of  Owhi.  This,  in  particular  in  addition  to 
the  reasons  he  gave  in  his  report,  induced  Colonel  Wright  to 
congratulate  himself  on  the  capture. 

From  Colonel  Wright's  report  one  gathers  but  little  of  the 
dramatic  setting  surrounding  the  capture  of  these  two  notor 
ious  Indians.  From  Wright  one  obtains  no  suggestion  that 
Owhi  disowned  Qualchian  as  the  latter  was  on  his  way  to  the 
gallows  or  that  the  hand  of  Kamiahkin  was  lifted  in  treachery 
toward  the  doomed  man. 

One  may  look  in  vain  through  all  the  sources  of  information 
available  for  a  statement  of  the  considerations  which  promp 
ted  Owhi  to  enter  the  camp  and  give  himself  up.  It  may  be 
that,  in  view  of  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  natives.  Owhi 
thought  that  it  was  about  time  for  him  to  get  under  cover  and 
make  good  his  promise  made  in  the  Yakima  valley.  Colonel 
Wright  knew  that  Kamiahkin,  Til-co-ax  and  other  chiefs  were 
in  the  vicinity,  but  considered  that  they  were  not  likely  to 
surrender  voluntarily.  Owhi  may  have  known  of  the  course 
taken  by  Milkapsi  and  the  success  which  met  his  tardy  ca 
pitulation,  and  decided  that  if  the  Coeur  d'Alene  got  off  so 
easily  he  might  have  the  same  luck. 

A  description  of  the  meeting  between  the  Colonel  and  the 
renegade  Chief  has  been  left  by  Adjutant  Kip,  who,  after  re 
citing  that  a  priest  was  summoned  to  act  as  interpreter, 
reproduces  the  interview.  Thus  is  obtained  a  glimpse  of 
Colonel  Wright's  methods,  particularly  the  brusque  manner 
in  which  he  proceeded  the  business.  The  conversation  is  thus 
given: 

Colonel:  Where  did  you  see  me  last? 

Priest:  He  saw  you  in  his  country. 

Colonel:  Whereabouts  in  his  country? 

Priest:  On  the  Natchess  river. 

Colonel:  What  did  he  promise  me  at  that  time? 

(Owhi  looked  exceedingly  pale  and  confused.) 

Priest:  That  he  would  come  in  with  his  people  in  some 

days. 

Colonel:  Why  d  d  he  not  do  so? 

(Aside:  Tell  the  officer  of  the  guard  to  bring  a  file  of  his 

men;  and,  Captain  Kirkham,  you  will  have  some  iron 

shackles  made  ready.) 

Priest:  He  says  he  did  do  so. 

Colonel:  Where  is  he  from  now? 

Priest:  From  the  mouth  of  the  Spokane. 


83 


Colonel:  How  long  has  he  been  away  from  here? 
Priest:  Two  days. 
Colonel:  Where  is  Qualchian? 
Priest:  At  the  mouth  of  the  Spokane. 
Colonel:  Tell  Owhi  that  I  will  send  a  message  to  Qual 
chian.  Tell  him  he  too,  shall  send  a  message,  and  if  Qual 
chian  does  not  join  me  before  I  cross  the  Snake  river,  in 
four  days,  I  will  hang  Owhi. 

Colonel  Wright  decided  to  take  Owhi  with  him  to  Fort  Walla 
Walla  and  refer  the  disposition  of  his  case  to  his  superiors. 
His  capture  had  been  but  an  incident  of  the  campaign,  not  one 
of  its  subjects.  The  chief  was  killed  before  he  reached  Walla 
Walla  during  an  attempt  to  escape.  General  Morgan,  in  whose 
immediate  charge  Owhi  was  and  who  after  being  unjured  by 
the  chief  commenced  shooting  at  the  fugitive,  gives  an  excel 
lent  account  of  the  incident  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 

Private  John  Rohn  of  the  Ninth  infantry,  now  living  near 
Walla  Walla  was  one  of  the  men  of  the  detail  which  acted  as 
Owhi's  guard.  He  says  the  chief  was  a  very  wily  old  fellow 
whose  eyes,  beneath  their  apparent  blinking,  were  ever  on  the 
lookout  for  opportunities  to  escape.  The  relationship  of  pri 
soner  and  guard  brought  the  soldiers  and  chief  into  so  close 
proximity  that  a  few  days  after  the  trip  was  commenced,  Owhi 
told  Rohn  of  a  large  sum  of  gold  he  had  cached  away  under  a 
log  near  the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla  river  and  intimated 
that  he  would  be  willing  to  exchange  it  for  freedom.  Rohn  was 
neither  accepting  a  "pig  in  a  poke"  nor  failing  in  his  duty. 
He  never  had  faith  enough  in  the  prisoner  to  go  later  to  the 
Columbia  and  investigate  the  log. 

The  appearance  of  Qualchian  in  the  camp  has  been  a  mys 
tery.  Colonel  Wright  merely  states  that  Qualchian  came  in 
but  does  not  assert  that  he  came  because  of  the  delivery  of 
and  message  either  from  Owhi  or  from  the  Colonel  himself. 
Kip  recites  that  Qualchian  exhibited  distress  when  he  learned 
that  Owhi  was  in  the  camp.  Dandy  says  the  Qualchian  exhibi- 
that  Owhi  was  in  the  camp.  Dandy  says  that  Qualchian  had 
seen  the  departure  of  the  dragoons  to  the  Steptoe  battlefield 
and  thought  to  find  the  camp  empty.  Hazard  Stevens  in  the 
life  of  General  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  his  father,  says  that  the 
murderer  of  Agent  Bolan  rode  into  camp,  putting  on  a  bold 
face  and  fully  expecting  to  be  treated  with  the  consideration 
formerly  shown  the  Yakima  chiefs. 

Kip's  suggestion  of  treachery  may  furnish  the  right  explan 
ation  for  the  appearance  of  this  famous  chieftain  in  the  camp 
of  his  avowed  enemy.  Kamiahkin  was  hiding  about  the  camp. 
A  man  of  his  resources  could  easily  be  informed  of  the  taking 
of  Milkapsi  into  the  fold.  He  understood  very  clearly  that  him 
self,  Owhi  and  Qualchian  were  regarded  as  the  foremost  of 
the  Indians  in  fermenting  trouble.  The  streets  of  the  camp 
were  open  and  all  that  transpired  therein  could  be  seen  from 
the  tops  of  the  hills,  and  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  for 
the  crafty  old  chief  to  have  known  that  Owhi  was  a  prisoner. 
With  Owhi  out  of  the  way,  if  he  could  only  get  Qualchian  into 
the  white  man's  toils,  Kamiahkin  could  plead  that  he  would 
be  a  good  Indian  alone. 

But  Kamiahkin  was  destined  never  again  to  make  his  home 
in  the  Yakima  valley.  He  fled  over  the  mountains  to  the  east 
ward  with  a  party  of  the  Palouse  tribe  who  would  not  sur 
render.  The  flight  took  place  within  a  day  or  two  after  Qual 
chian' s  execution,  for  part  of  Kamiahkin's  crowd  who  did  not 
follow  him  presented  themselves  to  Colonel  Wright  on  Sept 


ember  30th.  For  many  years  he  roamed  the  mountains  oi 
northern  Idaho  and  western  Montana,  but  eventually  returned 
and  made  his  home  near  Rock  Lake,  on  the  border  line  be 
tween  Spokane  and  Whitman  counties.  It  was  here  that  he  died 
in  1873  and  was  buried  in  a  mound  overlooking  the  lake.  When 
the  government,  in  the  80's  was  removing  the  bodies  of  the 
Indian  dead  for  reinterment  on  the  Colville  reservation, 
friends  of  the  famous  old  chief  desired  to  have  his  remains 
removed.  When  the  rude  grave  was  opened  the  skeleton  was 
skullless.  Two  enterprising  curio  collectors  of  the  Inland 
Empire  each  possess  a  "skull  of  Kamiahkin. "In life  he  was 
undoubtedly  two-faced  and  possessed  some  Cerberean  qual 
ities.  It  is  only  those  who  were  famous  that  grow  in  esti 
mation  after  death. 

The  appearance  of  Qualchian  and  his  suite  in  the  camp  or 
the  Latah  fell  on  the  24th  of  September.  The  scenes  enacted 
are  thus  described  by  Adjutant  Kip: 

About  twelve  o'clock  today  there  trotted  out  from  a  can 
yon  near  our  camp  two  Indian  braves  and  a  fine  looking 
squaw.  The  three  rode  abreast,  and  a  little  way  behind 
rode  an  Indian  hunchback  whom  we  had  seen  before  in  our 
camp.  The  three  principal  personages  were  gaily  dressed, 
and  had  a  most  dashing  air.  They  all  had  on  a  great  deal 
of  scarlet,  and  the  squaw  wore  two  ornamental  scarfs 
passing  over  the  right  shoulder  and  under  the  right  arm. 
She  also  carried,  resting  across  in  front  of  her  saddle,  a 
long  lance,  the  handle  of  which  was  completely  wound  with 
various  colored  beads,  and  from  the  end  of  which  depended 
two  long  tippets  of  beaver  skins.  The  two  braves  had  fifles, 
and  one,  who  was  evidently  the  leader  of  the  party,  carried 
an  ornamented  tomahawk,  With  the  utmost  boldness  they 
rode  directly  up  to  Colonel  Wright's  tent. 

Captain  Keyes,  who  was  standing  at  the  time  in  front  of 
the  tent,  pulled  aside  the  opening,  remarking  as  he  did  so, 
"Colonel,  we  have  distinguished  visitors  here." 

The  Colonel  came  out  and,  after  a  short  conversation, 
to  his  surprise,  recognized  in  the  leader  of  the  party  Qual 
chian,  the  son  of  Owhi  and  one  of  the  most  desperate 
murderers  on  this  coast.  For  a  few  moments  Qualchian 
stood  talking  with  Colonel  Wright,  with  his  rifle  standing 
by  his  side.  His  bearing  was  so  defiant  that  Captain  Keyes, 
thinking  that  he  might  meditate  some  desperate  act,  placed 
himself  on  his  right  a  little  in  the  rear,  with  his  eye  fixed 
on  Qualchian' s  rifle,  ready  to  spring  upon  him  on  the 
slightest  demonstration. 

In  a  short  time  Colonel  Wright  mentioned  Owhi's  name. 
At  this,  Qualchian  started  and  exclaimed,   "Car?" 
(where) 

The  Colonel  answered,  "Owhi  is  over  there." 
When  this  was  communicated,  I  was  standing  near  him, 
and  he  seemed  to  be  paralyzed.  His  whole  expression 
changed  as  though  he  had  been  stung.  He  gazed  about  him 
and  repeated  mechanically. 
"Owhi  milite  yawa!"  (Owhi  is  over  there!) 
In  a  moment  he  had  made  a  motion  as  if  to  use  the 
rifle  he  had  in  his  hands  and  advanced  toward  his  horse. 
He  evidently  saw  at  once  that  he  had  run  into  the  toils  of 
the  enemy.  The  guard,  however,  hadby  this  time  arrived, 
and  he  was  at  once  disarmed.  The  guard,  found  on  him  a 
fine  pistol  capped  and  loaded,  and  plenty  of  ammunition. 
Colonel  Wright  told  him  to  go  with  the  guard,  to  which 


84 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


he  consented  with  silent  reluctance,  hanging  back  as  he 
was  pulled  along,  but  evidently  undecided  what  to  do. 

Qualchian  was  finely  shaped,  with  a  broad  chest  and 
muscular  limbs,  and  small  hands  and  feet,  so  violent  were 
his  struggles,  though  he  had  at  the  time  an  unhealed 
wound  through  the  lower  part  of  his  body. 

Fifteen  minutes  after  his  capture  the  officer  of  the  day 
received  an  order  from  Colonel  Wright  to  have  him  hung 
immediately.  When  his  fate  was  made  known  to  him,  he 
began  to  curse  Kamiaken.  A  file  of  the  guard  at  once 
marched  him  to  a  neighboring  tree,  where,  on  attempting 
to  put  a  rope  around  his  neck,  the  contest  was  again  re 
newed.  Bound,  as  his  arms  were,  he  fought  and  struggled 
till  they  were  obliged  to  throw  him  down  on  his  back  to 
fix  the  noose,  he  shrieking  all  the  while, 

"Stop,  my  friends;  do  not  kill  me;  I  will  give  much  mon 
ey,  a  great  many  horses;  if  you  kill  me,  a  great  many  In 
dians  will  be  angry." 

The  rope  was  thrown  over  a  limb  and  he  was  run  up. 
Among  those  who  assisted  with  great  alacrity  were  two 
miners,  now  in  the  employ  of  the  quartermaster  who  had 
been  in  the  party  which  was  attacked  by  Qualchian  and  his 
band  some  nonths  before.  His  last  words  as  the  noose 
tightened  were  a  curse  on  Kamiaken. 

It  is  supposed  by  this  that  he  was  sent  by  Kamiaken  into 
the  camp  as  a  spy  to  ascertain  what  we  would  do,  and  he 
looked  upon  him,  therefore,  as  the  author  of  his  death.  He 
died  like  a  coward,  and  very  differently  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  Indians  generally  meet  their  fate.  So  loud, 
indeed,  were  his  cries  that  they  we  re  heard  by  Owhi,  who 
was  confined  not  far  from  him.  The  old  chief,  in  disgust, 
disowned  him,  saying, 

"He  is  not  my  son,  but  the  son  of  Kamiaken"  meaning 
that  he  followed  the  counsels  of  Kamiaken. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  was  some  treach 
ery  in  his  coming  in,  for  he  had  not  met  the  messenger 
sent  out  for  him,  but  had  either  come  in  of  his  own  accord, 
or  had  been  lured  by  the  little  imp  of  a  hunchback.  His  ex 
pression,  especially  that  of  his  eyes,  betokened  a  diabol 
ical  expression.  As  soon  as  Qualchian  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  guard,  the  hunchback  galloped  to  the  upper 
end  of  the  camp,  where  he  related  to  his  people  with  sav 
age  glee  the  part  he  had  taken  in  guiding  the  chief  to  our 

quarters. 
So  notorious,  however,  was  the  character  of  Qualchian, 

that  his  execution  met  with  the  unanimous  approval  of  the 
Indians  themselves.  When  informed  of  it,  their  first  ex 
clamation  always  is;  "It  is  right,  it  is  right." 
On  the  identity  of  the  hunchback  hinges  the  speculation  as 
to  the  treachery  of  Kamiahkin.  Hon  A.  J.  Slawn,  long  a  res 
ident  of  the  Yakima  valley  and  familiar  with  lore  from  Indian 
sources,  is  the  authority  for  the  statement  that  one  Le  Quout 
living  on  the  Spokane  reservation  who,  according  to  Captain 
John  McA.  Webster,  Indian  agent,  immediately  after  the 
Wright  expedition  joined  the  Flat  heads  and  as  an  adopted 
son  of  the  tribe  fought  against  the  Blackfeet.  He  became  a 
real  Indian  soldier  of  fortune  for  some  twenty  years  until  in 
the  70's  when  he  became  farmer  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Spokane  with  the  Columbia.  He,  though  now  an  old  man,  has 
very  markedly  stooped  shoulders  and  a  forward  thrust  of 
the  neck  which  in  youth  might  have  given  him  the  appearance 
of  a  hunchback. 


Hon.  A.  J.  Splawn 

Mr.  Splawn  also  says  that  the  woman  who  accompanied 
Qualchian  into  the  camp  was  his  wife,  daughter  of  Pohlatkin 
and  that  after  the  execution  she  fled  with  Le  Quout  and  the 
others  of  Kamiahkin's  party  over  the  mountains,  Le  Quout 
ultimately  marrying  the  widow.  Captain  Webster  has  never 
been  able  to  obtain  from  Le  Quout  any  sketch  of  his  life.  He 
declines  to  discuss  his  career,  possibly  because  he  thinks  it 
yet  might  embroil  him  with  the  government. 

There  were  other  executions  at  the  camp  of  the  Ned- 
Whauld.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  following  Qualchian*  s  end, 
the  Palouse  began  to  arrive  to  be  recorded  as  peaceful.  They 
told  Colonel  Wright  that  they  had  been  in  both  battles  with 
him  and  later  had  joined  Kamiahkin's  band  when  it  was  start 
ing  for  the  mountains.  They  seceded  and  were  anxious  for 
peace.  Fifteen  of  this  party  were  seized  and  relentlessly  ex 
amined.  Some  had  gone  out  of  their  natural  territory  to  make 
war  on  the  United  States  and  one  had  killed  a  sergeant  in 
Steptoe's  command. 

"I  had  promised  these  Indians  severe  treatment,"  chron 
icles  Colonel  Wright  "and  accordingly  six  of  the  most  noto 
rious  were  hung  on  the  spot.  The  others  were  ironed  for  the 
march." 

A  detailed  description  of  the  scene  of  the  execution  of 
these  men  is  to  be  found  in  the  reminiscences  of  General 


EXECUTIONS  AT  HANGMAN  CREEK 


85 


Dandy,  in  a  later  chapter  and  their  conduct  under  the  gallows 
was  far  more  in  accord  with  traditional  Indian  stoicism  than 
was  manifested  Qualchian. 

These  executions  on  the  Lahtoo,  or  Latah,  are  responsible 
for  the  appellation"Hangman  Creek."  While  tradition  pre 
served  the  fact  that  Indians  had  expiated  crimes  against  the 
government  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  stream,  it  did  not 
hand  down  the  proper  number  of  executed  individuals.  In 
popular  estimation  the  number  ranged  from  a  dozen  to  sixty, 
with  seventeen  as  the  figure  most  often  quoted  in  conversa 
tion.  The  enacity  of  this  number,  seventeen,  is  directly 
traceable  to  the  same  source  as  the  application  of  the  name 
Step  toe  to  the  highest  eminence  in  all  Whitman  County— a 
noble  peak,  commanding  a  generous  view  of  a  remarkable 
country,  but  in  no  way  related  to  the  Steptoe  repulse. 

From  Walla  Walla,  as  a  central  point,  the  prospective 
settlers  passed  out  in  all  directions,  years  after  the  events 
had  taken  place.  At  Walla  Walla  they  heard  that  some  twenty 
leagues  beyond  the  Snake  river  Colonel  Steptoe' s  expedition 
had  been  surrounded  on  a  high  hill  and  only  escaped  annihi 
lation  by  a  miracle.  When  the  wagons  and  families  and  cattle 
had  reached  the  vicinity  of  Colfax  a  solitary  sentinel  butte 
loomed  far  above  the  surrounding  country. 

Straightway  the  conclusion  was  drawn  that  on  that  peak  the 
beleaguered  soldiers  of  Steptoe  had  stood  and  fought,  much 
as  did  Hooker  at  Lookout  Mountain  "above  the  clouds."  Thus 


this  grand  landmark,  some  miles  distant  from  the  rude 
graves  of  Taylor  and  Gaston  and  Ingossomen  creek,  comes 
down  across  the  pages  of  history  and  geography  as  Steptoe 
Butte. 

"Colonel  Wright's  expedition  cleaned  the  Indians  out  up 
north  of  here  and  he  executed  seventeen  Indians,"  was  the 
story  heard  by  the  first  commers  into  the  Spokane  Country. 
When  they  discovered  the  spot,  it  was  immediately  invested 
with  the  awesome  glamour  of  the  grand  total  credited  to  the 
entire  march  of  the  column  -  -  eleven  while  in  the  field  and 
six  after  the  return  to  Walla  Walla.  In  a  similar  way  the 
shambles  at  "Horse  Slaughter  Camp"  has  been  converted  in 
many  minds  through  the  medium  of  colloquial  exchange  into 
a  terrible  cavalry  battle  between  a  host  of  Indians  and  sev 
eral  regiments  of  United  States  regulars. 

Until  within  recent  years  a  huge  pine  tree  stood  on  the 
northerly  edge  of  Latah  creek  a  short  distance  north  and  west 
of  the  crossing  of  the  old  Kentucky  trails,  now  a  dignified 
county  road.  Extending  in  a  northwesterly  direction  from  the 
trunk  and  about  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground  was  a  large  limb 
in  a  nearly  horizontal  position.  This  was  the  gallows,  tradi 
tion  said,  whereon  Qualchian  and  the  others  died.  General 
Dandy,  in  his  reminiscences,  uses  the  phrase,  "trees  se 
lected  for  the  purpose."  Mullan  absent  on  the  side  trip  to  the 
Steptoe  battlefield  at  the  time  ,  returned  to  learn  that  a  gal 
lows  had  been  erected  for  the  purpose. 


86 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


21 


Close  of  a  Remarkable  Campaign 


Vigorous  war  on  the  hostile  Nez  Perces  and  Palouse  had 
been  included  in  the  program  written  by  General  Clarke  for 
Colonel  Wright  to  carry  into  effect.  On  the  24th  of  September, 
the  day  of  the  execution  of  Qualchian,  Wright  was  in  no  quan 
dary  as  to  his  course  in  the  next  few  days.  Within  less  than  a 
month  from  the  time  he  had  crossed  the  Snake  River  and  with 
solemn  responsibility  entered  the  enemy's  country,  the  ex 
pedition  had  broken  the  back  of  Kamiahkin's  confederacy  and 
had  drawn  the  glove  of  peace  over  the  iron  hand  held  out  to 
the  Spokane  and  Coeur  d'Alenes. 

The  disaffected  Nez  Perces  had  been  quieted  before  Wright 
left  Walla  Walla.  The  Palouse  presented  no  formidable  pro 
blem  to  the  expedition.  Less  than  700  regular  soldiers  had 
established  a  prestige.  The  wealth  of  Chief  Til-co-ax  was 
decaying  in  and  about  the  corral  on  the  Spokane  river.  Ka- 
miahkin  had  left  the  country  for  the  seclusion  of  the  valley 
of  the  Clark's  Fork.  Whatever  Colonel  Wright  might  desire 
to  accomplish  with  the  Palouse  could  be  done  as  he  marched 
his  unbeaten  column  back  to  Walla  Walla  through  the  heart  of 
the  country  of  the  Palouse.  Even  before  leaving  the  camp  on 
the  Ned-Whauld  opposition  was  shown  to  be  dissolved.  That 
Colonel  Wright  did  not  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  from  the  sever 
ity  meted  out  to  the  other  tribes,  is  shown  by  these  two  re 
ports  written  on  the  same  day,  from  a  camp  on  the  Palouse 
river,    four  days  after  the   summary  end  of  Qualchian; 
On  the  evening  of  that  day  many  of  the  Palouse  began  to 
gather  in  my  camp.   They  represented  themselves  as 
having  been  in  both  battles,  and  when  Kamiahkin  fled  over 
the  mountains  they  seceded  from  his  party,  and  were  now 
anxious  for  peace.  I  seized  fifteen  men,  and  after  a  care 
ful  investigation  of  their  cases,  I  found  that  they  had  left 
their  own  country  and  waged  war  against  the  forces  of 
the  United  States,  and  one  of  them  had  killed  a  sergeant 
of  Colonel  Steptoe's  command,  who  was  crossing  the  Snake 
River.  I  had  promised  those  Indians  severe  punishment  if 
found  with  the  hostiles,  and  accordingly  six  were  hung  on 
the  spot.  The  others  were  ironed  for  the  march. 

I  left  my  camp  on  the  Ned-Whauld  (Lahtoo)  on  the 
morning  of  the  26th,  and  after  a  march  of  four  cold  rainy 
days  reached  this  place  last  evening. 

On  the  27th  I  was  met  by  the  Palouse  chief,  Slow-i-archy. 
This  chief  has  always  lived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Palouse, 
and  has  numerous  tesitmonials  of  good  character,  and  has 
not  been  engaged  in  hostilities.  He  told  me  that  some  of 
his  young  men  had,  contrary  to  his  advice,  engaged  in  the 
war,  but  that  they  were  all  now  assembled  and  begging  for 
peace.  Slow-i-archy  had  five  men  with  him,  and  he  dis 


patched  two  of  them  the  same  day  he  met  me  high  in  the 
Palouse  to  bring  in  the  Indians  from  that  quarter,  whom 
he  represented  as  desirous  of  meeting  me. 

After  I  encamped  last  evening,  Slow-i-archy  went  down 
the  river  about  two  miles  and  brought  up  all  his  people, 
men,  women  and  children,  with  all  the  property  they  had, 
and  early  this  morning  a  large  band  of  Palouses  numbering 
about  100  came  in  from  the  upper  Palouse.  These  com 
prise  pretty  much  all  the  Palouse  left  in  the  country.  A 
few  have  fled  with  Kamiahkin,  who  is  represented  as 
having  gone  over  the  mountains  and  crossed  Clark's  Fork. 

The  second  report,  written  also  on  the  last  day  of  Sept 
ember,  is  as  follows: 

I  have  this  moment  finished  with  the  Palouses.  After 
calling  them  together  in  council,  I  addressed  them  in 
severe  language,  enumerating  their  murders,  thefts  and 
war  against  the  United  States  troops. 

I  then  demanded  the  murderers  of  the  two  miners  in 
April  last.  One  man  was  brought  out  and  hung  forthwith. 

Two  of  the  men  who  stole  the  cattle  from  Walla  Walla 
were  hung  at  my  camp  on  the  Ned-Whauld,  and  one  of  them 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  the  Four  Lakes.  All  the  proper 
ty  they  had  belonging  to  the  government  was  restored. 

I  then  brought  out  my  Indian  prisoners,  and  found  that 
three  of  them  were  either  Walla  Wallas  or  Yakimas.  They 
were  hung  on  the  spot. 

One  of  the  murderers  of  the  miners  had  been  hung  on 
the  Spokane. 

I  then  demanded  of  these  Indians  one  chief  and  four  men, 
with  their  families,  to  be  taken  to  Fort  Walla  Walla  as  hos 
tages  for  their  future  goodbehavior.  They  were  presented 
and  accepted. 

I  told  these  Indians  that  I  would  not  now  make  any  writ 
ten  treaty  of  peace  with  them,  but  if  they  performed  all 
that  I  required  that  next  spring  a  treaty  should  be  made 
with  them. 

I  said  to  them  that  white  people  should  travel  through 
their  country  unmolested;  that  they  should  apprehend  and 
deliver  up  every  man  of  their  nation  who  had  been  guilty 
of  murder  or  robbery.  All  this  they  promised  me.  I  warned 
them  that  if  I  ever  had  to  come  into  this  country  again  on 
a  hostile  expedition  I  would  annihilate  the  whole  nation. 

Across  the  intervening  fifty  years,  one  may  almost  hear 
the  traditional  pin  drop  on  the  banks  of  the  Palouse  river. 
Those  Indians  had  just  seen  some  of  their  number  ex 
ecuted.  They  saw  five  of  their  friends  en  route  to  Walla 
Walla  as  a  peace  offering  of  good  will.  At  hearing  the  fare- 


87 


well  address  of  a  commander  whose  march  has  been  at 
tended  by  "slaughter  and  devastation",  those  poor  Pal- 
ouses  must  have  been  "visibly  affected."  A  few  months 
later  Slow-i-archy  was   appointed  keeper  of  the  ferry 
across  the  Snake  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tucanon. 
In  addition  to  making  the  two  reports  just  reproduced, 
Colonel  Wright  found  time  at  the  camp  on  the  Palouse  to 
review  the  accomplishments  of  his  expedition.  At  the  moment 
he  was  not  far  distant  from  the  Snake  river,  whence  only  a 
short  month  before  he  had  expressed  himself  to  General 
Clarke  in  terms  of  apprehension  as  to  the  outcome  of  the 
expedition.   The  interim  had  been  filled  with  successful 
endeavor,  unaccompanied  by  catastrophe  or  galling  experi 
ence. 

By  direct  and  soldierly  effort  he  had  scattered  the  ele 
ments  of  what  was  understood  by  all  conversant  with  the 
situation  to  portend  a  protracted  war.  In  a  few  days  he 
would  expect  to  resume  the  routine  duties  of  post  com 
mander  at  The  Dalles,  with  supervision  over  the  military 
district  of  the  Columbia.  Glance  over  his  shoulder  as  he 
wrote  in  his  tent  on  the  Palouse: 

Headquarters  Expedition  against  Northern  Indians 
Camp    on    the    Palouse    River,    W.   T.  Sept.   30,  1858 
Sir:  The  war  is  closed.  Peace  is  restored  with  the  Spo 
kane,  Coeur  d'Alene  and  Pelouses.  After  a  vigorous  cam 
paign  the  Indains  have  been  entirely  subdued,  and  were 
most  happy  to  accept  such  terms  of  peace  as  I  might  dic 
tate. 
Results 

1.  Two  battles  fought  by  the  troops  under  my  command, 
against  the  combined  forces  of  the  Spokanes,  Coeur  d' 
Alenes  and  Pelouses,  in  both  of  which  the  Indians  signally 
defeated,  with  a  severe  loss  of  chiefs  and  warriors  either 
killed  of  wounded. 

2.  The  capture  of  one  thousand  horses  and  a  large  num 
ber  of  cattle  from  the  hostile  Indians,  all  of  which  were 
either  killed  or  appropriated  to  the  service  of  the  United 
States. 

3.  Many  barns  filled  with  wheat  and  oats,  also  several 
fields  of  grain  with  numerous  caches  of  vegetables,  dried 
berries  and  kamas,  all  destroyed  or  used  by  the  troops. 

4.  The  Yakima  chief,  Owhi,  in  irons,  and  the  notorious 
war  chief  Qualchen,  hung.  The  murderers  of  the  miners, 
cattle  stealers,  etc,  (in  all  eleven  Indians)  hung. 

5.  The  Spokanes,  Coeur  d' Alenes  and Palouses entirely 
subdued  and  most  abjectly  for  peace  on  any  terms. 

6.  Treaties  made  with  the  above  nations;  they  have  re 
stored  all  property  which  was  in  their  possession,  belong 
ing  either  to  the  United  States  or  to  individuals;  they  have 
promised  that  all  white  people  shall  travel  through  their 
country  unmolested,  and  that  no  hostile  Indians  shall  be 
allowed  to  pass  through  or  remain  among  them. 

7.  The  delivery  to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  United 
States  troops  of  the  Indians  who  commenced  the  battle  with 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe  contrary  to  the  orders  of  the 
chiefs. 

8.  The  delivery  to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  United 
States  troops  of  one  chief  and  four  men,  with  their  fam- 
milies,  from  each  of  the  above  named  tribes,  to  be  taken 
to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and  held  as  hostages  for  future  good 
conduct  of  their  respective  nations. 


9.  The  recovery  of  the  two  mounted  howitzers. aban 
doned  by  the  troops  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Steptoe. 
Colonel  Wright  was  a  military  man,  and  his  view  of  the 
results  of  his  expedition  related  only  to  the  events  of  the 
immediate.  Of  the  broader  results  he  could  not  forsee;  it 
was  not  his  duty  to  consider  them.  He  had  plowed  the  ground. 
The  harvest  was  to  come  after  —  years  after;  for  the  ground 
lay  fallow  until  the  Civil  War  had  been  ten  years  in  history. 
Through  all  these  years  only  one  noxious  growth  survived  — 
Smohallism. 

The  Wright  expedition  separated  on  the  banks  of  the  Snake 
river.  A  part  of  the  column,  including  the  artillery  marched 
away  to  the  lower  forts  on  the  Columbia.  The  infantry  and 
dragoons  repaired  to  Walla  Walla.  The  return  of  the  troops  to 
their  station  was  devoid  of  incident  except  that  of  the 
attempted  escape  of  Owhi,  the  details  of  which  are  related  by 
General  Morgan  in  his  reminiscences  in  a  subsequent  chap 
ter. 

Arrived  at  Fort  Walla  Walla  the  contingent  ordered  to  that 
post  had  but  one  duty  to  perform,  and  the  expedition  was  over. 
The  bare  military  records  contain  no  reference  to  the  cere 
monies  of  October  7th,  and  recourse  is  had  to  Lieutenant 
Kip's  journal: 

"At  ten  O'clock  took  place  the  burial  of  Captain  Taylor, 
Lieutenant  Gaston  and  the  remains  of  the  man  which  had 
been  found  on  Colonel  Steptoe's  battlefield.  It  was  from 
this  post  that  they  had  marched  forth  and  here  they  were 
to  be  laid  to  rest.  They  were  of  course  buried  with  mili 
tary  honors,  the  ceremony  being  invested  with  all  the 
pageantry  which  was  possible,  to  show  respect  to  the 
memory  of  our  gallant  comrades. 

All  the  officers,  thirty  nine  in  number,  and  the  troops 
at  the  post,  amounting  to  800  (reinforcements  having  ar 
rived  since  our  departure)  were  present  and  took  part  in 
the  ceremonies.  The  horses  of  the  dead,  draped  in  black, 
having  on  them  the  officers'  swords  and  boots  were  led 
behind  the  coffins.  The  remains  were  taken  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  post  and  there  interred.  Three  volleys  were 
fired  over  them  and  we  left  them  where  day  after  day  the 
notes  of  the  bugle  will  be  borne  over  their  graves." 

A  feeling  of  great  relief  came  now  over  the  people  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  It  was  accepted  as  fact  that  those  Indians 
who  had  fomented  trouble  were  out  of  the  way.  This  sentiment 
was  prevalent  among  both  the  settlers  and  the  military,  and 
the  latter  at  once  commenced  to  give  attention  to  plans  for 
the  settlement  of  the  country. 

General  William  S.  Harney  succeeded  General  Clarke  in 
command  of  the  department  of  the  northern  Pacific  in  Oct 
ober,  at  which  time  the  Department  of  Oregon  the  forerunner 
of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia  came  into  being.  General 
Harney  requested  views  on  the  outlook  for  the  future  from 
Colonel  Wright,  who  responded  with  the  following  retro 
spective  and  suggestive  comment: 

Sir:  I  have  at  this  moment  received  your  communication 
of  this  date. 

With  regard  to  the  present  disposition  and  feeling  of  the 
various  Indians  with  whom  I  have  been  brought  in  contact 
during  the  late  campaign,  I  can  assure  the  general  that 
we  have  nothing  to  apprehend.  The  NezPerces,  Spokanes, 
Coeur  d'Alenes,  Palouses,  Walla  Wallas  and  other  tribes 
residing  on  both  banks  of  the  Columbia  river  and  its  tri- 


88 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


butaries,  are  now  regarded  as  entirely  friendly.  Written 
treaties  have  been  made  with  the  Nez  Perces,  Spokanes 
and  Coeur  d'Alenes,  and  verbal  treaties  with  the  smaller 
bands.  The  Palouses  were  severely  punished.  Ten  of  the 
worst  of  them  were  executed,  and  a  chief  with  four  men, 
with  their  families,  carried  to  Walla  Walla  as  hostages. 
I  have  also  taken  hostages  from  the  Spokanes  and  Coeur 
d'Alenes  and  retain  them  at  Walla  Walla. 

With  regard  to  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Col- 
ville,  there  are  doubtless  some  bad  men  among  them  who 
should  be  punished.  Their  acts  are  confined  to  robbing 
and  stealing,  but  I  have  no  information  that  any  murders 
have  been  recently  committed.  A  gentlemen  residing  in 
Colville  valley  wrote  me  a  few  days  since,  he  says  nothing 
of  the  miners  having  been  driven  off,  or  of  the  Indians 
having  committed  any  hostilities.  I  would  recommend  that 
an  expedition  be  sent  through  that  country  next  spring,  and 
such  Indians  as  deserve  it  severly  punished;  and  then  I 
think  we  shall  have  no  more  trouble  in  that  quarter. 
I  am  not  in  favor  of  establishing  permanent  posts  in 
advance  of  Walla  Walla.  Annual  expeditions,  at  little  ex 
pense,  can  be  made  through  the  Indian  country,  north,  east 
and  south  of  Walla  Walla,  and  in  this  way  I  think  that  tran- 
quility  and  peace  can  easily  be  maintained. 

Should  it  be  desired  to  establish  a  post  in  the  Colville 
valley,  it  would  be  well  to  defer  it  until  another  season, 
after  an  expedition  has  been  made,  and  the  localities  well 
examined.  It  is  too  late  now,  the  ground  will  be  covered 
with  snow  before  the  troops  could  reach  that  country. 
Even  more  strongly  suggestive  of  the  growing  intrusion 
upon  the  military  authorities  of  considerations  of  a  civic 
character,  is  the  report  of  General  Clarke  to  army  head 
quarters  made  after  his  return  to  San  Francisco: 

In  my  report  of  the  10th  instant,  I  promised  to  the  de 
partment  my  views  on  the  Indian  relations  of  Washington 
and  Oregon.  Relieved  from  the  command  in  those  terr 
itories,  I  hesitated  as  to  the  propriety  of  speaking  further 
on  the  subject. 

After  reflection  suggested  that  havingbeen  in  command 
for  sometime  in  those  territories  and  for  as  long  a  time 
having  had  these  affairs  under  consideration,  it  would 
not  be  a  work  of  superrogation  to  state  to  the  department 
the  policy  I  thought  ought  to  be  pursued  and  the  military 
means  by  which  that  policy  could  be  made  effective. 

Sometime  since  I  was  persuaded  that  the  treaties  made 
by  Governor  Stevens,  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for 
those  territories  with  the  Indian  tribes  east  of  the  Cascade 
range,  should  not  be  confirmed.  Since  then  circumstances 
have  changed  and  with  them  my  views. 

The  Indians  made  war  and  were  subdued;  by  the  former 
act  they  have  lost  some  of  their  claims  to  consideration 
and  by  the  latter  the  government  is  enabled  and  justified 
in  taking  such  steps  as  may  give  the  best  security  for  the 
future. 

The  gold  discovered  in  the  north  in  the  past  year  will 
carry  a  large  emigration  along  the  foothills  of  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Cascades,  and  not  improbably  gold  will  be 
mined  from  every  stream  issuing  from  those  mountains. 

This  emigration  must  graze  and  cultivate  the  valleys  and 
at  times  with  great  suffering. 

That  the  country  will  soon  be  filled  with  emigrants,  led 


on  by  the  irresistable  temptation  of  mining,  admits  of  no 
doubt,  and  as  little  that  the  Indians  will  then  be  dispos 
sessed  by  force  if  not  by  treaty. 

The  pacification  now  made  to  be  lasting  must  now  be 
complete;  the  limits  of  the  Indians  should  now  be  drawn, 
not  to  be  again  disturbed. 

Influenced  by  these  views  I  decided  to  urge  on  the  de 
partment  the  immediate  confirmation  of  these  treaties,  or 
modifications  of  them,  the  payment  of  the  stipulated  price, 
and  the  opening  of  the  lands  to  settlers. 

I  was  prepared  to  summon  a  council  of  all  the  tribes  at 
Walla  Walla  in  the  spring,  notifying  them  that  the  tribes 
not  sending  delegates  would  be  considered  as  enemies. 
When  assembled  I  intended  to  make  known  to  them  the 
views  of  the  government  and  show  them  my  sufficient 
means  to  enforce  them. 

The  force  I  proposed  to  assemble  was  a  regiment  of  in 
fantry,  one  company  of  artillery  and  four  of  dragoons;  this 
force  I  proposed  to  assemble  at  Walla  Walla  previous  to 
the  time  of  assembling  the  Indians,  and  to  make  it  the  win 
ter  garrison  of  that  post. 

Had  the  Indians  refused  compliance  with  the  demands  of 
the  government,  I  would  then  have  been  fully  prepared  to 
enforce  them. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  rendered  compliance  I  would 
have  sent  one  portion  of  this  command  to  cover  the  road 
party  to  Fort  Benton,  and  at  the  same  time  to  visit  the 
fishing  and  camas  grounds  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene,  Spokanes 
and  Pelouses;  another  to  observe  the  emigrant  road  to 
Fort  Hall  and  to  relieve  and  protect  the  emigration;  and  a 
third,  consisting  of  the  garrisons  of  the  Dalles  and  Simcoe, 
to  skirt  the  western  bank  of  the  Columbia  and  the  slopes 
of   the    Cascades    as    far  north  as  the  49th  parallel. 

For  this  country,  summer  excursions  are  preferable  to 
advanced  posts;  they  give  large  forces  at  the  points  re 
quiring  an  effort,  and  are  better  for  discipline  and  in 
struction,  and  much  more  economical. 

The  system  of  small  posts  necessary  on  some  of  our 
frontiers  is  here  mixed  evil. 

When,  if  ever  again,  the  tribes  unite  for  war,  small 
posts,  even  if  found  self  sustaining,  are  useless  for  of 
fense. 

On  this  frontier  we  must  have  peace  or  extensive  com 
binations  requiring  prompt  suppression  by  a  respectable 
force. 

Better  means  than  these  proposed  may  suggest  them 
selves  to  others;  these  are  the  result  of  my  reflection,  and 
on  these  I  would  have  fully  relied  for  the  quiet  of  the  fron 
tier. 

I  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  large  post  between 
Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Walla  Walla  for  the  better  pro 
tection  and  relief  of  emigrants. 

On  this  route  the  emigration  is  likely  to  be  large,  and 
the  security  should  be  as  perfect  as  may  be. 

But  one  looks  in  vain  for  a  suggestion  of  the  reality  which 
came  after.  General  Clarke  may  not  be  blamed  for  suggesting 
gold  in  the  hills  about  Colville  as  the  loadstone  for  attracting 
settlers,  when  the  reality  has  shown  the  richest  silver-lead 
mines  in  the  world  pouring  their  wealth  down  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  river  and  past  the  Jesuit  mission  house  where  Col 
onel  Wright  negotiated  his  treaty.  Looking  into  the  future 


CLOSE  OF  A  REMARKABLE  CAMPAIGN 


89 


General  Clarke  could  not  see  that  the  railroad  was  to  super 
sede  the  wagon  as  a  means  of  immigration,  and,  even  if  he 
did  know  of  General  Steven'a  preliminary  survey  for  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad,  he  had  no  grounds  for  believing 
that  the  Great  Northern  and  St.  Paul  were  to  cross  the 
Rockies,  or  that  the  Oregon  Short  Line  would  traverse  the 
country  from  near  Fort  Laramie  to  Fort  Walla  Walla. 

No  clear  collection  of  the  records  of  the  Wright  expeditions 
of  1858  would  be  complete  without  some  biographical  refer 
ence  to  the  man  who  would  have  received  the  stigma  of 
failure  had  he  not  planned  well  and  carried  forward  his  plans 
to  a  successful  completion. 

George  Wright  was  a  native  of  Vermont  and  graduated  from 
West  Point  in  1822  and  was  at  once  commissioned  second 
Lieutenant  in  the  Second  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  until 
1836,  five  years  of  which  he  did  duty  as  regimental  adjutant. 
In  1838,  being  a  captain,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Eigth  in 
fantry  and  it  was  while  with  this  regiment  that  he  participated 
in  the  Seminole  war  in  Florida,  being  brevetted  "for  mer 
itorious  conduct,  zeal  and  energy."  He  was  commissioned 
major  on  New  Years  day  of  1848  and  at  the  same  time  was 
transferred  to  the  Fourth  infantry,  his  promotion  being  in 
recognition  of  his  services  in  the  Mexican  war.  In  addition 
to  this  substantial  token,  he  received  a  brevet  Lieutenant 
Colonelcy  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  battle 
of  Contreras  and  Churubusco"  to  which  was  added  the  rank 


of  colonel  by  brevet  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in 
the  battle  of  Molino  de  Key."  He  first  wore  the  eagles  of  a 
colonel  in  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1854.  Following  the  Mexican 
war  his  services  in  the  army  were  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  states  and  territories  of  the  far  west. 
Although  an  elderly  man  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  his 
work  was  still  performed  with  that  same  and  gallant  and  mer 
itorious  conduct  which  seems  to  have  been  part  and  parcel  of 
him  in  his  prime,  and  his  work  lay  as  brigadier  general  of 
volunteers.  In  1864  having  then  been  at  the  call  of  his  country 
for  46  years,  he  was  brevetted  a  brigadier  in  the  regular 
establishment  and  sent  to  his  old  stamping  ground  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest  as  commander  of  the  department  of  the 
Columbia.  Still  in  the  military  harness,  General  Wright  took 
passage  from  Vancouver  on  July  30th,  1865  on  the  ill-fated 
steamer  "Brother  Jonathan,"  bound  for  San  Francisco,  and 
with  it  went  down  in  the  treacherous  waters  of  the  Pacific 
off  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  valley  of  which  he  had 
served  so  long.  The  beautiful  modern,  military  establishment 
at  Spokane,  Washington,  erected  on  the  very  ground  on  which 
he  encamped  on  the  evening  of  September  5,  1858,  after  the 
battle  of  Spokane  Plains,  is  a  tribute  to  his  memory  and  his 
important  services  to  the  community. 

For  a  brief  estimate  of  General  Wright's  personal  char 
acter  the  reader  is  referred  to  General  Dandy,  in  the  suc 
ceeding  chapter. 


The  Steamer  "Brother  Jonathan" 


90 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


22 


Dandy's  Reminiscences 


(Being  a  monograph  written  from  memory  during  the 
summer  of  1907  by  G.  B.  Dandy,  sometime  second 
lieutenant  of  artillery,  who  participated  in  the  Wright 
campaign  of  1858.  At  the  time  of  writing  these  remi 
niscences  General  Dandy  was  73  years  old.) 

In  the  latter  part  of  1857 1  was  stationed  at  the  Presidio  of 
San  Francisco,  being  then  second  Lieutenant  in  Company  M. 
Third  artillery.  This  company,  commanded  by  Captain  E.D. 
Keyes,  was  at  that  time  the  only  military  force  stationed 
near  San  Francisco.  There  was  little  to  do  except  what  per 
tained  to  ordinary  garrison  work  in  time  of  peace,  and  San 
Francisco  was  socially  and  in  every  other  respect  a  pleasant 
place  and  easily  accessible,  being  but  four  miles  distant 
from  the  Presidio. 

But  in  May,  1858,  there  were  heard  rude  alarms  from  the 
frontier.  A  steady  increase  in  the  immigration  of  the  whites 
into  Washington  Territory,  the  home  of  the  Spokane,  Yakimas, 
Couer  d'Alenes,  Calispels,  Pend  CPreilles,  Palouses  and 
other  warlike  Indian  tribes  had  bred  a  feeling  of  hostility  in 
the  Indian  mind  towards  the  white  settlers,  which  in  1855  had 
shown  itself  in  active  warfare  on  Puget  Sound:  and  some  of 
our  people  had  been  attacked,  despoiled  and  slaughtered  by 
the  Indians  of  that  region. 

Our  troops  stationed  in  that  country  to  defend  the  settlers 
had  active  work  there  for  a  time,  in  which  they  had  some  cas 
ualties  in  their  contact  with  a  determined  foe.  The  principal 
Indian  chief  who  led  the  tribes  in  this  war  against  the  whites 
was  Kanasket,  a  Klicki  tat  chief,  a  man  of  great  renown  among 
all  the  tribes  in  the  northwest.  Other  hostile  chiefs  were  Les- 
chi,  Kitsap  and  Quimelt.  Pat  Kanim  a  noted  chief,  remained 
friendly  to  the  whites.  Kanasket,  the  principal  chief  of  the 
hostiles,  having  been  killed  while  making  an  attack  on  our 
troops,  the  war  on  Puget  Sound  languished  and  come  to  an 
end  in  1856;  and  there  seemed  to  be  prospect  of  peace  with 
the  northern  Indians. 

This  prospect,  however  to  be  illusive.  In  May,  1858,  Col 
onel  Steptoe  of  the  Ninth  infantry,  stationed  at  Fort  Walla 
Walla,  crossed  the  Snake  river  with  a  force  of  dragoons  about 
150  strong,  and  marched  toward  Fort  Colville  his  intention 
being  to  arrest  some  Indian  outlaws  who  had  been  stealing 
cattle  from  the  white  settlers,  and  committing  other  depre 
dations.  Colonel  Steptoe  believed  that  the  Indians  in  that  re 
gion  were  friendly  to  him,  and  that  there  was  no  danger  of  an 
attack  from  them.  He  had  but  inferior  arms  -  smooth  bore 
carbines  then  used  by  the  dragoons -and  took  no  sabers  with 
him.  he  believed  that  he  could  pass  through  the  Indian  country 


without  being  opposed  or  molested  by  the  tribes.  In  this  he 
was  mistaken. 

Most  of  the  tribes  concentrated  and  made  an  attack  on  him 
at  a  point  about  three  days'  march  north  of  the  Snake  River, 
in  which,  after  a  stout  resistance  lasting  all  day,  he  lost  two 
officers  -  Captain  0.  H.  P.  Taylor  and  Lieutenant  William 
Gaston  -  and  several  of  the  rank  and  file  killed  and  wounded. 
The  troops  retreated  to  the  Snake  River  in  the  night  and  by 
good  fortune  crossed  it  in  the  morning,  after  a  hard  march  of 
at  least  70  miles,  leaving  their  dead  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 

This  was  a  great  blow  to  Colonel  Steptoe.  He  was  a  Virgin 
ian,  proud  of  his  profession,  brave  and  chivalrous  in  temper- 
ment,  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him. 

As  soon  as  Colonel  Steptoe's  defeat  became  known,  Colonel 
Newman  S.  Clarke,  the  commander  of  the  department  of  the 
Pacific  with  headquarters  at  San  Francisco  immediately 
commenced  preparations  to  send  forward  to  the  scene  of 
conflict  all  the  available  troops  in  his  department,  Captain 
Keyes,  with  two  companies  of  the  Third  artillery,  left  the 
Presidio  a  few  days  after  the  order  for  the  expedition  was 
issued  and  arrived  at  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  river  about 
the  middle  of  June.  Two  more  companies  arrived  soon  after 
and  for  nearly  three  weeks  the  time  was  occupied  in  disci- 
plineng  and  drilling  the  soldiers  for  the  service  in  which  they 
were  sure  to  be  very  soon  engaged.  The  troops  had  been  but 
recently  supplied  with  a  new  weapon  -  the  old  smooth-bore 
musket,  reamed  out  and  rifled  the  bo  re  being  adapted  for  the 
use  of  a  heavy  minie  ball,  with  an  accurate  range  of  a  thou 
sand  yards. 

As  soon  as  all  the  forces  from  the  south  intended  for  the 
expedition  had  reached  the  Dalles,  the  march  to  Fort  Walla 
Walla  was  commenced,  the  troops  arriving  there  about  the 
20th  of  July.  Colonel  George  Wright  of  the  Ninth  Infnatry  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  expedition,  composed-  if  my 
memory  serves  me  correctly -of  the  following  troops  and  of 
ficers,  viz: 

Two  squadrons  of  the  First  dragoons,  commanded  by  Ma 
jor  W.  N.  Grier,  assisted  by  Lieutenant  D.McGregg,  Lieuten 
ant  H.  B.  Davidson. 

Two  companies  of  the  Ninth  infantry,  officered  by  Captain 
C.  S.  Winder,  Captain  F.  T.  Dent  and  Lieutenant  Fleming. 

A  batallion  of  six  companies  of  the  Third  attillery,  com 
manded  by  Captain  E.  D.  Keyes,  assisted  by  Captain  E.  O.  C. 
Ord,  Captain  James  A.  Hardie,  Lieutenants  H.  G.  Gibson, 
James  L.  White,  R.  O.  Tyler,  M.  R.  Morgan,  George  P.  Ilv- 


91 


rie  (Ihrie),  D.  R.  Ransom,  G.  B.  Dandy,  Lawrence  Kip,  and 
H.  B.  Lyon. 


A  Mountain  Howitzer. 

The  mountain  howitzer  company  was  commanded  by  Lieu 
tenant  James  L.  White. 

A  detachment  of  33  Nez  Perces  Indians,  as  scouts,  guides 
and  interpreters  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  John  Mullan, 
second  artillery  and  topographical  engineer  of  the  expedi 
tion. 

Lieutenant  P.  A.  Own,  Ninth  Infantry,  adjutant  general 
of  the  expedition,  on  the  staff  of  Colonel  Wright;  Lieuten 
ant  Lawrence  Kipp,  Third  Artillery,  adjutant  on  the  staff 
of  Captain  Keyes;  Doctor  J.  F.  Hammond,  surgeon  U.  S. 
Army,  chief  medical  officer;  Captain  Ralph  W.  Kirkham, 
quartermaster  and  commissary. 

All  the  detachments  together  numbered  about  900  men. 
Some  time  was  occupied  after  all  the  troops  reached  Walla 
Walla  in  organizing  the  expedition  and  in  drilling  the  troops 
in  skirmishing  and  in  target  firing. 

The  Tucanon  river  was  selected  by  Colonel  Wright  as  the 
point  for  crossing  the  Snake  river,  and  entering  into  the  hos 
tile  Indian  territory.  This  is  a  small  stream  flowing  into 
the  Snake  river  about  50  miles  noth  of  Walla  Walla.  Here 
the  troops  were  encamped  while  a  small  stone  fort  was  con 
structed,  and  a  garrison  of  one  company  of  artillery  under 
the  command  of  Major  F.  O.  Wyse  stationed  there  to  com 
mand  the  crossing. 

On  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  command  at  this  point, 
the  troops  captured  a  Palouse  Indian  who  had  evidently 


crossed  the  river  as  a  spy,  and  was  trying  to  escape  obser 
vation  by  hiding.  When  questioned,  he  would  give  no  account 
of  himself,  and  was  held  as  a  prisoner.  A  rather  amusing 
incident  of  this  capture  happened  at  this  time. 

The  prisoner,  thinking  to  make  his  escape,  broke  away 
from  his  captors  and  rushed  for  the  river,  plunging  in  to 
swim  across.  Lieutenant  Mullan,  who  was  riding  up  at  the 
time,  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  reached  the  river  just  as 
the  Indian  was  about  to  strike  out  for  liberty.  Leaping  from 
his  horse,  Mullan  rushed  into  the  water  and  grappled  with 
the  Indian,  but  a  loose  stone  turned  under  his  foot  and  threw 
him  down,  and  the  two  had  a  lively  tussle.  The  Indian  was 
naked  except  for  his  breech-clout  and  his  body  was  so  slip 
pery  that  he  could  not  be  held,  so  Mullan  escaped  to  the 
shore  half  drowned.  The  prisoner,  though  many  shots  were 
fired  after  him,  gained  the  other  shore  and  escaped. 

Some  days  after  this  incident,  an  Indian  was  seen  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  Snake,  observing  our  camp.  He  was 
naked,  except  for  the  usual  breechclout,  and  was  reclining  on 
a  clay  bank  in  color  so  like  his  own  skin  that  it  was  difficult 
to  make  him  out.  A  call  was  made  to  him  from  the  camp,  to 
which  he  seemed  to  pay  no  attention;  nor  did  he  move  until 
a  few  rifle  balls,  falling  near  him,  seemed  to  wake  him.  A 
small  detachment  kept  him  covered  with  rifles  and  a  boat  was 
sent  over  to  bring  him  to  our  camp.  Nothing  of  importance 
was  elicited  when  he  was  examined.  He  was  evidently  sent 
forward  by  the  hostiles  to  note  our  movements  and  keep  them 
informed. 

The  troops  and  supplies  of  the  expedition  crossed  over 
the  turbulent  and  swift  water  of  the  Snake  river  about  the 
27th  of  August,  in  canvas  boats  formed  by  stretching  the 
canvas  on  wooden  frames.  About  700  horses  and  mules  were 
crossed  by  swimming  the  streams,  being  guided  by  our  Nez 
Perces  scouts,  who  kept  the  heads  of  the  leaders  in  the 
right  direction  by  slipping  off  their  backs,  seizing  and  holding 
on  by  the  ends  of  their  tails,  swimming  alongside  and 
splashing  water  in  their  faces,  when  necessary  to  keep  their 
heads  upstream  towards  the  point  of  landing.  Finally  every 
thing  was  transported  safely,  and  we  camped  in  the  hostile 
Indian  territory  for  the  first  time. 

The  next  morning  the  command  started  to  seek  the  hos 
tiles.  The  latter,  we  learned  from  accounts  of  people  fleeing 
from  the  country,  had  great  hopes  of  destroying  us,  as  they 
had  so  easily  overcome  Colonel  Steptoe,  and  were  boasting 
that  if  we  once  crossed  the  Snake  river  not  one  of  us  would 
ever  return.  They  greatly  outnumbered  our  forces,  and  they 
believed  that  they  could  subdue  us. 

After  about  four  days'  march,  Indian  signs  began  to  be 
noticed  by  our  scouts.  The  savages  first  appeared  in  small 
scouting  parties,  and  on  the  31st  of  August  — I  think—  they 
skirted  our  line  of  march,  a  ridge  of  low  hills  running  be 
tween  them  and  our  troops,  set  fire  to  the  dry  grass  and 
under  cover  of  the  smoke  fired  upon  our  rear  guard.  This 
attack  was  easily  repulsed,  and  the  Indians  were  driven  off. 
There  were  no  casualties. 

Soon  after  this  the  command  encamped,  and  picket  guards 
and  sentinels  were  established.  The  camp  was  situated  about 
a  mile  from  a  high,  bald  hill,  on  the  summit  of  which  an  In 
dian  sentinel  showed  himself,  mounted  and  bearing  a  banner 
with  a  long  staff.  This  sentinel  remained  visible  until  the 
darkness  of  the  night  shut  him  out  from  our  view. 


92 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  FOUR  LAKES 

In  the  morning  it  became  quite  evident  that  the  savages 
intended  to  fight  at  this  point,  as  our  Nez  Perces  scouts 
reported  that  they  were  in  force  on  the  plains  just  beyond 
the  bald  hill.  A  number  had  also  appeared  on  the  summit  and 
seemed  to  invite  our  troops  to  battle.  Beyond  the  hill,  in  the 
valley,  their  forces  were  assembled  and  engaged  in  chanting 
their  war  songs. 

This  cermony  the  chief  sand  head  men  always  engage  in  for 
-the  purpose  of  inspiring  and  encouraging  their  warriors  on 
the  eve  of  battle.  I  have  heard  these  chants,  consisting  of 
grunts,  whoops,  yells  and  other  hideous  and  discordant 
sounds;  and  I  have  found  their  effect  on  our  men,  especially 
those  who  hear  them  for  the  first  time,  to  be  rather  creepy 
and  exciting.  The  Indians  themselves  are  greatly  worked  up 
by  this  savage  music,  which  seems  to  give  them  courage 
and  daring  to  attempt  the  boldest  exploits. 

The  challenge  of  the  hostiles  to  battle  was  promptly  ac 
cepted  by  our  veteran  commander,  and,  having  left  camp  and 
pack  train  carefully  guarded,  he  marshalled  his  forces  for 
the  attack.  The  Nez  Perces  scouts,  Gregg's  troop  of  dragoons 
and  Captain  Ord's  company  of  artillery  led  the  advance  up 
the  hill,  and  soon  drove  the  hostiles  from  the  summit.  Then 
followed  Colonel  Wright  and  staff,  the  battalion  of  artillery 
acting  as  infantry,  and  two  companies  of  the  Ninth  infantry. 
When  our  troops  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  they  saw  before 
them  a  great  plain  and  four  lakes  bordered  by  forest  trees, 
the  whole  making  a  beautiful  and  inviting  prospect. 

A  thousand  or  more  savages  were  moving  about  in  view 
and  passing  at  great  speed  to  and  from  the  woods  and  ravines 
into  the  valleys.  They  were  armed  with  the  ordinary  Hudson's 
Bay  smooth-bore  guns,  and  the  usual  equipment  of  spears, 
bows  and  arrows. 

The  point  of  attackhavingbeenindicatedbythe  commander 
the  troops  advanced  and  opened  fire  on  the  hostiles.  The  lat 
ter  at  once  showed  that  they  were  surprised  and  astonished 
at  the  long  range  of  our  rifles,  and  their  formation  was  brok 
en  almost  immediatley;  but  they  continued  to  fight  in  a  desul 
tory  way,  falling  back  slowly  under  fire  of  our  infantry.  Then 
the  dragoons,  under  Grier,  passed  to  the  front  and  charged 
the  retreating  savages.  But  our  horses  had  been  hard  worked, 
and  were  tired,  and  could  gain  but  little  on  the  Indian  ponies. 
No  grain  forage  had  been  available,  and  they  had  to  subsist 
wholly  on  grass.  The  Indian  ponies  would  fatten  on  this  food, 
but  the  dragoon  horses  were  not  used  to  it,  and  had  become 
thin  and  weak.  The  Indian  horses  were  fresh,  and  our  horses 
were  tired  from  constant  marching  from  the  fort. 

In  spite  of  the  disadvantage,  some  of  the  Indians  were  over 
taken  by  the  dragoons  and  killed,  Lieutenant  Gregg  having 
personally  overtaken  one  and  killed  him  with  his  saber.  The 
loss  of  the  Indians  could  not  be  ascertained,  as,  when  pos 
sible,  they  carry  off  their  dead  and  wounded.  Our  new  arms, 
our  perfect  discipline  and  drill  made  us  impregnable  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Indian  warriors,  with  their  obsolete  arms,  and 
only  and  ambuscade  of  our  troops  could  have  given  them  a 
chance  of  success.  Subsequent  inquiry  among  the  Indians  and 
information  from  other  sources  brought  the  conclusion  that 
not  less  than  50  of  the  hostiles  were  killed  or  wounded.  Our 
own  loss  was  trifling,  only  a  few  of  our  men  having  been 
wounded. 

Thus  ended  the  Battle  of  Four  Lakes,  and  our  troops 


marched  back  to  camp.  Our  Indian  scouts  returned  much  ex 
cited  by  our  victory,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  have  a 
scalp  dance  in  honor  thereof.  They  exhibited  a  number  of 
scalps  that  they  had  taken,  which  they  dried  in  the  sun  for 
preservation.  The  locality  of  the  "Four  Lakes",  where  the 
engagement  took  place,  is  now,  I  believe,  well  known.  Med 
ical  Lake  is  not  very  far  from  the  City  of  Spokane,  being  one 
of  the  four  lakes  which  suggest  the  name  of  this  engagement. 
Our  troops  remained  in  camp  for  rest  and  recuperation 
until  September  5th,  when  our  march  was  resumed.  Our  road 
lay  along  an  old,  well  worn  trail,  leading  to  a  great  prairie 
known  as  the  Spokane  Plains. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  SPOKANE  PLAINS 

We  had  entered  this  prairie  when  our  scouts  announced 
that  the  enemy  was  in  sight.  In  a  few  minutes  their  advance 
was  seen  by  the  troops.  Under  the  leadership  of  their  medi 
cine  men,  they  were  setting  fire  to  the  dry  grass  which  grew 
high  and  thick  all  about  us.  This  act  was  accompanied  by  hor 
rible  yells,  war  whoops  and  battle  cries  of  a  hideous  nature, 
at  least  to  our  new  recruits.  The  wind  was  high,  and  the 
flames  came  down  from  the  windward  and  nearly  surrounded 
the  command.  Our  efficient  packers,  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  Kirkham,  soon  found  a  spot  of  some  extent  where 
the  grass  was  the  shortest;  and  the  troops  by  counter-burning 
and  stamping,  put  out  a  portion  of  the  flames  sufficiently  for 
us  to  get  through  the  line  of  fire  and  smoke,  behind  which  the 
savages  were  massing  their  forces  for  an  attack  on  the  pack 
train. 

But  the  packers  and  troops  were  quick  to  obey  their  offi 
cers,  and  saved  the  train.  If  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in 
stampeding  and  capturing  this  train,  we  would  have  been  left 
in  a  desperate  condition.  The  medicine  men,  who  appeared 
to  lead  in  this  attack,  were  dressed  quaintly  and  guadily; 
their  horses,  mostly  white,  being  painted  with  native  pigments 
in  red  and  dark  colors,  and  in  rudely  shaped  figures  of  men 
and  beasts.  A  strong  point  in  the  strategy  of  Indian  warfare 
is  the  attempt  to  stampede  the  animals  of  the  opposing  force, 
rendering  them  frantic  and  unmanageable.  In  this  state,  they 
rush  away  in  any  direction  and  are  pursued  and  captured  by 
the  savages.  It  was  only  by  the  very  great  coolness  and  cour 
age  of  the  officers  and  men  that  the  calamity  of  a  stampede 
was  averted  in  this  case. 

Major  Grier  and  his  dragoons  leading,  the  hostiles  were 
soon  engaged  and  for  a  short  time  they  showed  a  bold  front, 
firing  upon  us  from  all  directions.  The  Spokane  plain,  in 
general  a  level  prairie,  was  interspersed  with  patches  of 
rocky  hillocks  covered  with  trees,  which  afforded  a  good 
defense  for  the  savages  as  long  as  they  were  able  to  remain 
within  their  shelter.  These  defensive  points  were  numerous 
and  some  of  them  quite  extensive  area;  and  the  troops  were 
obliged  to  charge  these  points  frequently  to  drive  the  enemy 
from  them  into  the  open  prairie.  Thus,  after  the  first  attempt 
to  overwhelm  us,  we  became  engaged  in  a  running  fight  of 
many  miles,  in  which  we  had  to  drive  the  enemy  from  one 
shelter  to  another.  When  they  were  forced  into  an  open,  the 
dragoons  were  always  in  a  position  to  charge  them  as  they 
fled,  and  many  were  killed  and  wounded  in  this  manner. 

Lieutenant  White  and  his  howitzer  company  did  good  ser 
vice  in  scattering  the  hostiles  when  they  showed  attempts  to 
concentrate  their  forces.  One  of  his  shells  tore  a  limb  from 


DANDY'S  REMINISCENCES 


93 


a  large  tree  under  which  some  Indians  were  grouped,  which 
descending,  wounded  a  number  of  them;  among  whom,  as 
afterward  ascertained,  was  the  great  chief  Kamiakin  of  the 
Yakima  tribe,  who  was  severly  hurt.  The  Indians,  in  talking 
with  me  afterwards,  professed  a  great  fear  of  artillery.  They 
said  that  they  did  not  like  "the  guns  that  went  off  twice." 

The  fight  did  not  end  until  we  had  driven  the  enemy  across 
the  Spokane  river,  fully  20  miles  distant  from  the  camp  which 
we  had  left  in  the  morning.  This  river  supplied  us  with  the 
first  water  that  we  saw  during  the  entire  battle,  and  our 
troops  arrived  on  its  bank  almost  exhausted  from  thirst  and 
fatigue.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Spokane  Plains.  The  Indians 
had  probably  a  thousand  warriors  opposed  to  us.  Their  losses 
although  evidently  considerable,  for  reasons  before  stated 
could  not  be  ascertained.  They  were  not  able,  with  their  ar 
chaic  weapons  to  stand  before  us.  Had  Steptoe  possessed 
those  rifles  of  ours,  he  would  never  had  met  with  his  dis 
aster.  Our  own  loss  was  inconsiderable,  only  a  few  men 
wounded. 

On  reaching  the  Spokane  river,  our  troops  did  not  cross, 
but  encamped  on  the  south  side,  where  we  remained  until  the 
8th.  We  then  resumed  our  march  toward  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
mission. 

We  had  proceeded  about  nine  miles  when,  on  the  side  of  a 
low  mountain,  we  discovered  a  great  band  of  Indian  horses 
endeavoring  to  escape  into  the  valley  beyond.  On  arriving  at 
the  summit  of  a  range  of  hills,  we  found  that  this  band  had 
been  captured  by  Grier's  dragoons.  There  were  about  1200 
of  these  animals  in  the  band,  and  they  belonged  to  a  chief 
named  Til-co-ax. 

Our  possession  of  this  band  at  this  time,  when  we  were 
still  in  pursuit  of  the  hostiles,  involved  a  dangerous  respon 
sibility;  as  an  attempt  was  sure  to  be  made  by  the  Indians  to 
recover  them.  This  might  easily  be  undertaken  at  night  by  a 
stampede,  and  if  attempted  successfully,  our  own  horse  sand 
mules  might  also  be  stampeded,  and  our  expedition  left  afoot 
on  the  prairie. 

Colonel  Wright  consulted  his  officers,  and  finally  appointed 
a  board  to  consider  the  question  of  their  disposition.  This 
board  decided  that  it  was  too  dangerous  to  retain  the  animals, 
and  they  were  ordered  to  be  killed,  except  a  few  that  were 
allowed  to  be  selected  by  the  officers  and  our  Nez  Perces 
allies.  Each  of  these  was  allowed  to  select  two  horses.  The 
remainder  were  enclosed  in  a  corral  of  cottonwood  logs,  and 
destroyed  by  shooting*  This  took  place  at  our  camp  on  the 
Spokane  river,  about  15  miles  east  of  the  present  city  of  Spo 
kane.  I  was  a  witness  of  this  shooting,  and  found  it  a  pitiable 
sight;  but  it  was  undoubtedly  a  necessity  of  war. 

Twenty  years  later,  when  stationed  at  Vancouver  as  chief 
quartermaster  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  I  had 
occasion  to  visit  Fort  Coeur  d'Alene  and,  returning  to  Spo 
kane  in  a  spring  wagon,  I  stopped  for  a  short  time  at  this 
spot,  to  view  the  bones  of  Til-co-ax's  horses  on  the  banks  of 
the  river.  Many  had  disappeared,  but  many  still  remained, 
and,  as  I  stood  there  on  the  site  of  our  old  camp  ground,  the 
past  was  brought  vividly  to  my  mind.  I  fancied  that  I  could 
hear  the  report  of  the  rifles  and  the  whinney  of  the  mares 
for  their  colts  as  they  were  shot  down. 

About  the  time  we  were  in  camp  on  the  upper  Spokane 
river,  Colonel  Wright  received  a  message  from  Father  Joset, 
the  superior  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission,  appealing  to  him 


for  clemency  toward  the  hostile  Indians,  who  were  all  now 
desirous  of  peace,  being  completely  humbled  by  our  victories. 

We  crossed  the  Spokane  river  on  the  llth  and  passed  into 
a  fine  agricultural  country  containing  many  Indian  huts  and 
great  stores  of  unthreshed  wheat;  also  many  caches  of  native 
provisions  intended  for  supplies  of  food  for  the  coming  win 
ter.  The  dragoons  took  what  grain  they  need  for  forage,  and 
the  rest  was  destroyed.  The  caches  of  food  were  also  un 
earthed  and  demolished. 

After  two  days'  march  along  the  border  of  Coeur  d'Alene 
lake,  we  arrived  at  a  Jesuit  mission,  situated  on  a  small 
stream  flowing  into  the  lake.  Here  we  found  two  priests, 
two  laymen,  and  a  rude  chapel  of  logs.  Here,  was  their 
mission,  we  were  informed,  was  established  in  1848.  The 
savages  were  mostly  under  the  influence  of  the  mission  and 
many  of  them,  both  male  and  female,  were  good  practical 
Catholics  and  adept  in  all  the  observances  of  the  church.  This 
chapel,  while  rough  in  its  exterior,  was  embellished  within 
with  somewhat  rude  paintings  representing  scenes  in  the  life 
of  Christ,  his  apostles  and  disciples.  The  superior,  Father 
Joset,  showed  genuis  and  shrewdness  in  adapting  all  these 
decorations  to  the  capacity  of  the  Indian  mind.  Every  evening 
while  we  were  encamped  here,  we  could  hear  the  Indian  men 
and  women  at  or  near  the  chapel,  intoning  vespers,  and  their 
voices,  while  sounding  somewhat  wierd,  were  sweet,  and  their 
chanting  agreeable  to  the  ear.  The  hostiles  who  ventured  to 
come  to  our  camp,  having  been  treated  with  forbearance,  took 
heart  and  became  humble  suppliants  for  peace.  Large  num 
bers  of  them,  although  shy  at  first,  soon  gained  confidence 
and  visited  the  mission  daily. 

Near  the  middle  of  September  a  council  was  assembled  by 
Colonel  Wright.  About  100  chiefs  and  head  men  attended  this 
council,  and  with  them  a  large  following  of  squaws  and  pap- 
poses.  A  treaty  having  beed  arranged,  it  was  approved  and 
signed  by  Polotkin,  chief  of  the  Palouses;  Vincent,  chief  of 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes,  and  some  others.  This  treaty  was  strictly 
kept  by  the  tribes  involved. 

The  war  being  now  at  an  end,  we  left  this  wild  and  savage 
country  and  commenced  our  return  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  On 
the  22nd  we  encamped  on  the  Edwall,  a  small  affluent  of  the 
Spokane  river.  Here  we  were  visited  by  chief  sand  represent 
atives  of  the  Kalispels,  Palouses  and  Spokanes,  with  whom  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  signed.  These  treaties  with  the  Indians 
were  mild  in  their  provisions,  but  required  the  surrender  of 
well  known  murderers  and  thieves.  Six,  I  think,  were  sur 
rendered  at  once,  and  immediately  thereafter  hanged  by  order 
of  Colonel  Wright.  The  execution  of  these  six  I  witnessed. 

The  packers  employed  to  do  the  work,  brought  only  three 
ropes,  so  that  three  of  the  six  had  to  wait  for  their  turn 
while  three  of  their  companies  were  suspended  from  the 
limbs  of  the  trees  selected  for  the  purpose.  Herein  was  op 
portunity  observe  some  traits  of  the  Indian  character.  The 
savage  loves  his  life  and  will  not  risk  it  unnecessarily.  But, 
pinioned  and  all  hope  of  escape  gone,  he  is  cheerful  and  shows 
great  courage  and  fortitude.  During  the  scene  just  referred 
to  the  three  Indians  who  were  obliged  to  wait  while  their  com 
rades  were  being  dealt  with,  conversed  clearly  and  calmly 
with  one  another  and  smiled  cheerfully  as  they  looked  up  at 
those  who  were  suffering  the  agonies  of  death.  Then  they 
took  their  places  with  apparent  indifference  when  summoned; 
and  when  the  ropes  were  adjusted  about  their  necks,  they 


94 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


commenced  dancing  and  hopping  up  and  down,  each  singing 
his  death  song.  This  occupied  but  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
they  went  cheerfully  to  their  fate. 

On  the  22nd  of  September  a  well  known  and  prominent  chief 
of  the  Yakimas  rode  into  camp  alone.  This  was  Owhi,  con 
nected  by  marriage  with  the  noted  chief  Kamiakin,  and  father 
of  Qualchin,  a  young  savage  who  was  very  hostile  to  the 
whites  and  had  committed  many  murders  and  depredations 
among  them.  Owhi  did  not  keep  his  word  with  Colonel  Wright 
in  his  campaign  of  1856  in  the  Yakima  country.  He  had  pro 
mised  to  bring  in  all  his  people,  but  was  either  unable  or  un 
willing  to  do  so.  Colonel  Wright  turned  him  over  to  the  guard 
and  directed  him  to  be  placed  in  irons. 

Two  days  after,  his  son,  Qualchin,  rode  into  camp,  accom 
panied  by  a  young  and  handsome  squaw,  and  followed  by  an 
Indian  hunchback.  They  were  elaborately  dressed  and  deco 
rated  with  Indian  finery,  and  presented  the  dashing  air  of  im 
portant  and  princely  members  of  the  Indian  nobility.  Qualchin 
carried  a  rifle  and  a  highly  ornamented  tomahawk.  As  he  rode 
up  to  the  colonel's  tent  and  dismounted  from  his  horse,  his 
companions  moved  aside,  but  did  not  dismount.  Colonel 
Wright  soon  recognized  Qualchin  and  informed  him  that  his 
father,  Owhi,  was  a  prisoner  in  camp.  This  information  ap 
peared  to  surprise  and  frighten  him.  A  guard  was  ordered  to 
take  him  prisoner  and  iron  him,  and  this  was  followed  by  a 
written  order  to  the  officer  of  the  guard  to  hang  him  at  once. 
Thus,  within  less  than  an  hour  from  his  entrance  into  camp, 
he  was  executed. 

On  the  26th  of  October  we  left  camp  on  the  Edwall  or  Lah- 
to,  and  marched  for  Walla  Walla. 

Leaving  the  river  on  the  3rd,  our  prisoner  uwm,  was 
placed  under  charge  of  the  usual  guard  of  infantry  soldiers. 
He  was  mounted  on  his  own  horse,  and  the  precaution  was 
taken  to  fasten  his  ankles  together  by  a  chain  under  the  cinch, 
or  saddle  girth.  Lieutenant  Michael  R.  Morgan,  Third  artil 
lery,  was  the  officer  of  the  guard  and  became  responsible 
for  the  prisoner  during  the  march.  He  was  mounted  and  rode 
with  his  prisoner,  the  foot  guard  following.  Owhi  conducted 
himself  quietly  and  without  apparent  excitment,  and  rode 
along  until  the  command  reached  a  brook,  a  branch  of  the 
Tucanon,  At  the  crossing  there  was  aford where  the  stream 
broadened;  and  a  short  distance  above  it  was  spanned  by  a 
narrow  bridge  of  logs  for  the  footmen.  While  the  soldiers 
were  crossing  the  bridge,  Lieutenant  Morgan  led  the  Indian's 
horse  across  the  ford  and  released  the  reins  when  the  oppos 
ite  bank  was  reached.  As  soon  as  this  was  done,  Owhi  struck 
his  own  horse  a  fierce  blow  and  attempted  to  escape.  Morgan 
drew  his  pistol  and  followed,  firing  as  he  pursued.  The  Indian 
horse  was  badly  wounded  by  these  pistol  shots  and  gradually 
slackened  his  pace,wnich  enabled  the  officer  to  ride  up 
abreast.  Then  Owhi  struck  Morgan's  horse  over  the  head  with 
a  heavy  handle  of  his  whip  and  the  officer  himself  across  the 
face  with  the  lash.  But  the  prisoner's  horse  was  unable  to 
continue  much  further,  and  finally  halted  at  the  mouth  of  a 
blind  canon  in  the  foothills.  Here  a  few  dragoons  came  up  and 
opened  fire.  The  prisoner  received  a  bullet  in  the  head,  which 
ended  his  life  in  a  few  hours.  Thus,  father  and  son,  famous 
not  only  in  their  own  tribe  but  throughout  the  Northwest  as 
the  most  deadly  and  unrelenting  foes  of  the  settlers  in  Wash 
ington  territory,  had,  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  de 
parted  this  life;  and,  let  us  hope,  are  now  in  the  happy  hunt 
ing  ground  of  their  fathers. 


Our  command  arrived  at  Walla  Walla  on  the  5th  of  Octo 
ber,  and  the  campaign  against  the  Northern  Indians  was  at 
an  end.  The  Indians  who  were  executed  during  this  campaign 
by  the  authority  and  under  the  orders  of  Colonel  Wright,  were 
outlaws  and  criminals,  from  the  point  of  view  of  our  govern 
ment.  They  were  mostly  of  a  class  that  robbed  and  murdered 
of  their  own  volition  and  for  their  own  personal  benefit  and 
advantage.  Doubtless  the  majority  of  the  chief  sand  warriors, 
in  attempting  to  drive  out  our  settlers  and  to  keep  the  coun 
try  for  their  own  use  regarded  themselves  as  patriots.  They 
banded  together,  believing  that  they  could  rid  their  territory 
of  an  invading  enemy  who,  if  not  driven  out,  would  take  pos 
session  of  their  ancient  lands,  build  roads  through  their 
hunting  grounds,  destroy  the  game  on  which  they  subsisted 
and  revolutionize  the  mode  of  life  in  which  for  many  years 
they  had  been  contented  and  happy.  This  was  to  them  ample 
cause  for  war.  They  got  the  worst  of  it,  and  had  to  submit  to 
the  penalty  which  always  comes  to  the  conquerer. 

As  nearly  as  I  can  now  remember,  there  were  eleven  In 
dians  hanged  by  order  of  Colonel  Wright,  eight  of  whom  were 
delivered  over  to  the  expedition  by  the  tribes,  as  well  known 
robbers  and  murderers.  The  provision  of  the  treaties  made 
in  the  final  councils  of  Colonel  Wright  with  the  tribes  sanc 
tioned  the  surrender  to  these  criminals.  Qualchin  came  into 
our  camp  on  the  Edwall  voluntarily,  and,  being  recognized  by 
Colonel  Wright,  was  hanged  by  his  orders  as  a  murderer. 
Two  others  were  captured  by  the  troops,  and  were  hanged 
as  spies.  Thus,  eleven  were  executed  by  hanging,  under  usual 
customs  of  Indian  warfare.  Owhi,  the  father  of  Qualchin, 
while  a  prisoner  of  war,  was  shot  and  killed  on  trying  to  es 
cape,  as  before  noted.  The  grand  total  of  the  hostiles  killed 
during  the  expedition,  other  than  those  killed  in  battle, 
amounted,  therefore,  to  twelve. 

Of  the  personnel  of  the  expedition,  little  can  be  said  except 
that  most  of  them  have  passed  away.  As  I  now  remember  the 
officers,  all  of  whom  I  knew  personally,  I  can  vividly  recall 
personal  traits  of  many. 

Colonel  George  Wright  had  a  fine  social  side.  When  not 
engaged  in  the  strict  performance  of  duty,  he  was  genial, 
whole-souled,  kind  and  hospitable;  full  of  wit  and  possessed 
a  keen  sense  of  humor.  One  could  notbe  in  his  presence  long 
without  feeling  charmed  by  his  personality,  his  refinement, 
as  well  as  a  just  and  impartial  commander.  In  person,  he  was 
of  medium  size,  manly  appearance  and  of  rather  handsome 
features.  He  was  a  fine  looking  soldier  and  a  thorough  gentle 
man.  During  the  late  Civil  war  he  was  appointed  a  brigadier 
general  of  volunteers  and  given  command  of  the  Department 
of  the  Columbia.  He  lost  his  life  by  drowning  while  travelling 
to  some  point  in  his  department  in  a  steamer,  which  was 
wrecked  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river 

Major  William  N.  Grier  was  a  brother  of  Justice  Grier  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  was  a  fine  dragoon 
officer.  He  was  a  jovial  and  agreeable  man,  and  greatly  liked 
in  the  army.  He  has  been  dead  for  many  years. 

Lieutenant  D.  McM.  Gregg  became  colonel  of  the  Eighth 
Pennsylvania  cavalry  served  in  the  war  with  the  South  as  a 
general  officer  and  commanded  a  division  of  cavalry  with 
great  distinction.  This  division  became  famous  under  his 
leadership.  He  resigned  from  the  army  in  1865,  and  now  lives 
at  Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

Lieutenant  William  D.  Pender  was  a  very  efficient  cavalry 


DANDY'S  REMINISCENCES 


95 


officer  in  the  Confederate  service.  He  was  killed  in  action 
during  the  war. 

Lieutenant  Henry  B.Davidson  was  also  a  Sou  them  man,  and 
an  efficient  cavalry  officer.  He  resigned  from  the  service  in 
1861  and  became  a  Confederate  brigadier  general.  Of  his  sub 
sequent  history,  I  have  no  information. 

Of   the    artillery    officers,    we    had  some  noted  men. 

Captain  E.  D.  Keyes,  who  commanded  the  battalion  of  in 
fantry  under  Colonel  Wright  was  an  officer  of  talent  and 
ability.  He  was  made  a  general  officer  after  the  First  Battle 
of  Bull  Run  and  commanded  the  fourth  corps  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  I  served  in  his  com 
pany  at  the  Presidio  of  San  Francisco  and  in  the  Spokane 
expedition  as  second  lieutenant,  and  knew  him  quite  inti 
mately  .  He  resigned  from  the  army  at  the  close  of  the  war 
and  died  at  Nice,  France,  in  1895. 

Captain  E.  0.  C.  Ord  was  something  of  a  genius,  and  wound 
up  his  career  in  the  Civil  War  as  major  general  commanding 
the  Army  of  the  James.  He  was  the  successor  of  General 
B.  F.  Butler  in  this  command.  Sometime  after  the  war,  he 
retired  and  went  to  Mexico,  where  he  remained  for  a  while. 
Returning  by  way  of  Havana,  he  died  on  the  steamer  of  yellow 
fever  before  reaching  New  York. 

Captain  James  A.  Hardie  was  a  very  highly  esteemed  off 
icer.  He  had  been  major  in  Stevenson's  California  regiment 
during  the  Mexico  war,  and  afterwardbecame  adjutant  of  the 
Third  artillery,  under  command  of  Colonel  Gates  and  Lieu 
tenant  Colonel  Merchant.  After  the  Southern  war  he  was 
appointed  an  inspector  general  of  the  army,  and  died  several 
years  ago,  while,  I  think,  still  in  active  service. 

Lieutenant  D.  R.  Ransom  was  a  bright,  active  officer,  and 
very  popular  with  his  regiment.  He  served,  I  think,  in  the 
Civil  War,  but  I  have  not  heard  of  him  since. 

Lieutenant  M.  R.  Morgan  was  in  every  way  a  superior  off 
icer.  His  service  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  was  impor 
tant,  and  in  1894  he  was  appointed  comissary  general  of  sub 
sistence,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  This  post  he  held 
until  his  retirement  in  1897. 

Lieutenant  R.  O.  Tyler  was  a  fine  officer.  He  commanded 
a  regiment  of  Connecticut  artillery  during  the  Southern  war, 
and  afterwards,  until  his  death,  served,  with  efficiency,  in  the 
quartermaster's  department  of  the  army. 

Lieutenant  H.  B.  Gibson  was  a  very  valuable  officer.  He 
served  in  the  artillery  during  the  Rebellion  and  was  noted  for 
gallantry.  He  was  colonel  of  the  Third  artillery  in  1883  and 
brigadier  in  1904.  He  is  now  on  the  retired  list. 

Lieutenant  Lawrence  Kip  served  during  the  Southern  war, 
first  on  the  staff  of  General  Sumner,  and  afterwards  as  aide 
to  General  Sheridan.  He  was  an  efficient  officer,  and  resigned 
after  the  close  of  the  war. 

Lieutenant  George  P.  Ihrie  was  an  active  officer  and  did 
his  duty  faithfully.  He  resigned  in  1859  and  was  afterwards 
commissioned  in  the  pay  department  of  the  army.  Subse 
quently  he  left  the  army,  and  I  have  not  heard  of  him  since 
that  time. 

Of   the    infantry    officers    attached    to    the  expedition: 

Captain  F.  T.  Dent  of  the  Ninth  infantry  was  a  brother-in- 
law  of  General  Grant,  and  a  very  efficeient  officer.  He  died 
some  years  ago. 

Captain  S.  C.  Winder  was  of  the  Ninth  Infantry  and  had  a 
good  reputation  as  an  officer.  I  think  he  resigned  in  1861  and 
went  South,  but  of  this  I  am  not  sure. 


Lieutenant  Fleming,  also  of  the  Ninth  infantry,  had  a  good 
reputation  as  an  officer. 

Lieutenant  P.  A.  Owen,  Ninth  infantry,  was  a  son-in-law  of 
Colonel  Wright  and  was  a  native  of  Alabama.  He  resigned  in 
1861  and  went  South. 

Doctor  John  F.  Hammond  was  a  noted  man  in  the  medical 
corps  and  very  efficient  in  the  field. 

Captain  Ralph  W.  Kirkham,  of  the  quartermaster's  depart 
ment,  had  a  high  standing  in  his  corps,  and  managed  skill 
fully  his  department  in  the  Spokane  Expedition.  No  one  could 
have  done  better. 

EFFECTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

This  campaign,  called  the  Spokane  Expedition,  had  most 
far  reaching  effects,  inasmuch  as  it  completely  humbled  and 
subdued  the  hostile  Indians  who  had  for  some  time  been  most 
aggressive  toward  our  settlers,  and  had  com  mi  tied  many  de 
predations  upon  them,  stolen  their  cattle,  burned  their  houses 
and  butchered  their  women  and  children,  as  well  as  the  hus 
bands  and  fathers  who  were  seeking  homes  in  the  territory. 
This  aggressiveness  had  been  more  violent  after  the  govern 
ment  had  detailed  Lieutenant  John  Mullan  to  survey  a  wagon 
road  from  Fort  Walla  Walla  through  their  territory.  Here 
were  their  homes,  their  subsistence  and  everything  upon 
which  they  depended.  Lieutenent  Mullan  had  been  for  some 
time  engaged  in  making  this  survey,  and  this  action  had 
aroused  in  the  natives  a  fierce  hatred  and  opposition  to  our 
people.  The  defeat  of  Steptoe  had  confirmed  their  belief  that 
they  could  defeat  any  force  that  could  be  sent  against  them; 
and,  hence,  there  were  but  few  clans  or  chiefs  who  did  not 
join  them  in  forays  against  the  whites,  and,  lastly,  to  oppose 
us  in  the  expedition  happily  terminated. 

This  expedition  had  made  possible  the  "Empire  of  the  Co 
lumbia"  by  completely  subduing  the  hostile  tribes  who  had 
divided  it  among  themselves  and  hoped  to  exclude  all  others. 
It  may  be  truthfully  affirmed  that  but  for  this  conclusive  vic 
tory  over  these  tribes,  and  the  valuable  lessons  it  taught 
them,  the  country  would  have  remained  for  many  years  a 
howling  wilderness,  instead  of  the  happy  and  prosperous 
country  it  has  since  become.  It  would  still  have  resembled 
an  unweeded  garden  instead  of  a  "land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey",  containing  prosperous  modern  cities  and  towns,  the 
homes  of  wealth,  cultrue  and  refinement  —  enabling  every 
man  to  sit  under  the  shadow  of  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree. 
With  none  to  molest  or  make  him  afraid. 

G.  B.  Dandy  Bvt.  Gen.  U.S.A.,  Retired. 

A  few  days  after  General  Dandy  had  forwarded  the  fore 
going  notes,  he  sent  the  following. 

"Since  sending  you  my  monograph,  I  have  found  some  notes 
relating  to  the  Spokane  expedition  which,for  the  truth  of  his 
tory,  should  be  made  known,  viz:  That  two  days  after  the  re 
turn  of  the  expedition  to  Walla  Walla,  Colonel  Wright  had 
a  talk  with  the  Walla  Walla  Indians.  He  told  them  that  he 
knew  that  some  of  them  had  engaged  in  the  recent  fights. 

"This  was  so  acknowledged  by  about  forty,  and  of  these, 
four  are  selected  and  turned  over  to  the  guard,  and  were 
hanged  at  once.  These  were  proved  to  have  been  engaged  in 
many  murders  of  the  settlers  in  that  region.  The  foremost 
of  these  criminals  was  an  Indian  named  Wyecat. 


96 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


"This  will  increase  the  number  of  Indians  hanged  during  ^  find>  also>  tnat  l  have  omitted  menti0n  of  one  artillery 

the  Spokane  expedition  to  sixteen,  including  one  Palouse  In-  officer  who  served  during  the  expedition,  viz:  Lieutenant 

dian  hanged  by  order  of  Colonel  Wright  of  the  Palouse  as  a  James  Howard  Third  artillery.  He  was  appointed  from  Mary- 

murderer,  few  days  before  our  arriva,  a,  Wa,,a  Wal.a  after  E^ 

the  close  of  the  expedition.  as  adjutant  general. 


DANDY'S  REMINISCENCES  97 


23 


(A  contribution  prepared  during  the  summer  of  1907 
by  M.R.  Morgan  of  St.  Paul  first  Lieutenant  of  Ord's 
Company  of  artillery  during  the  Wright  campaign; 
later  Grant's  comissary  general,  and  one  of  the  sur 
vivors  of  that  historic  group  which  in  the  McLean 
house  at  Appomattox  witnessed  the  surrender  of  Lee) 

In  the  spring  of  1858,  and  for  some  months  previous,  I  had 
been  in  command  of  a  detachment  of  the  Third  regiment  of 
artillery,  in  which  regiment  I  was  a  first  Lieutenant,  and  sta 
tioned  at  None  Lackee  Indian  reservation,  some  21  miles  in 
the  interior  from  Tehame,  California.  From  this  duty  I  was 
relieved  in  the  spring  of  1858  and  turning  over  my  detach 
ment  to  the  proper  officer  at  regimental  headquarters  Benicia 
Calif.,  I  proceeded  to  join  my  proper  company  K,  at  Fort 
Miller,  on  the  San  Joaquin  river,  where  I  remained  only  long 
enough  to  be  convinced  that  it  must  be  the  most  disagreeable 
military  post  in  the  United  States  when  we  received  the  news 
of  the  defeat  of  the  troops  under  Maj.  E.  J.  Steptoe,  Ninth  in 
fantry,  brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel,  United  States  Army. 

Then  came  orders  to  the  commanding  officer,  Fort  Miller, 
Capt.  E.O.C.  Ord,  Third  artillery,  to  break  up  the  post,  leav- 
ving  the  acting  quartermaster  to  do  this  while  he,  Captain 
Ord,  and  I  proceeded  with  our  company  to  report  to  Colonel 
Wright  at  Fort  Dalles,  Oregon.  At  this  time  ten  companies, 
all  of  the  regiment  but  the  two  light  batteries,  C.  Braxton 
Bragg*  s  and  E.  Thomas  W.  Sherman's,  Third  artillery  were 
on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  California  or  Oregon,  and  were 
equipped  and  armed  as  infantry,  I  may  mention  that  I  was 
well  pleased  to  be  ordered  away  from  Fort  Miller,  believing 
any  change  would  be  for  the  better. 

We  marched  to  Stockton,  where  we  embarked  on  a  boat  for 
San  Francisco,  and  there  took  the  steamer  for  Fort  Vancou 
ver,  Washington  Territory  on  the  Columbia  river. 

Coming  on  board  the  steamer  in  San  Francisco  I  saw  ex- 
Capt.  William  Tecumseh  Sherman,  at  the  gangway,  look  at 
us  of  his  old  regiment,  marching  on  board  and  going  up  to 
Washington  Territory  to  discipline  those  savages,  Spokane, 
Coeur  d'Alene  etc.,  who  killed  our  comrades. 

Six  companies  of  the  regiment  were  gathered  up  from  var 
ious  posts  in  California  and  sent  to  Fort  Dalles  under  Colonel 
Wright.  From  this  point  we  marched  to  Fort  WallaWalla, 
where  we  found  companies  of  the  First  Dragoons  and  Ninth 
Infantry. 

After  due  preparation  we  marched  for  the  Snake  river,  at 
the  crossing  of  which,  on  the  north  bank,  the  hostile  Indians 


seemed  to  be  assembled  in  force.  On  leaving  Walla  Walla, 
and  from  there  to  the  Snake  river,  the  Indians  had  burned  the 
grass  in  front  of  us,  which,  however,  caused  us  very  little 
inconvenience. 

We  remained  at  the  crossing  of  the  Snake  river  several 
days,  until  we  had  built  fort  Taylor  and  got  our  pack  train, 
in  charge  of  Capt.  R.  E.  Kirkham,  A.Q.M.U.S.  Army,  ready 
for  use.  Leaving  Fort  Taylor  with  a  garrison  of  one  company 
of  the  Third  artillery  under  command  of  B  rev.  Maj.  0.  Wyse 
and  Lieut.  Gabriel  H.  Hill,  we  crossed  the  Snake  river.  Be 
fore  crossing,  the  Indians  had  appeared,  as  before  mentioned, 
on  the  opposite  high  bluff,  daring  us  to  come  over  and  with 
disrespectful  gestures  intimated  that  they  entertained  a  great 
contempt  for  us.  This  feeling  was  further  exhibited  after  we 
had  landed  on  the  north  bank  of  the  united  Spokanes,  Coeur 
d'Alenes,  Pen  d'Oreilles,  Palouses,  etc.  Keeping  at  a  good 
distance  in  front  of  us,  firing  at  such  a  distance  that  we  were 
not  disturbed  they  certainly  showed  none  of  the  bravery  that 
was  so  destructive  to  Steptoe's  command. 

In  this  so-called  "Spokane  expedition"  we  had,  if  I  remem 
ber  correctly,  leaving  Major  Wyse  behind  at  Fort  Taylor, 
five  companies  of  the  Third  artillery,  armed  as  infantry,  and 
as  fine  looking  soldiers  as  ever  stepped  in  shoe  leather,  the 
companies,  each  numbering  not  leas  than  sixty-five  men, 
under  the  command  of  the  senior  captain,  Erasmus  D.  Keyes; 
two  companies  of  the  Ninth  infantry,  under  Capt.  Frederick 
T.  Dent  and  Charles  S.  Winder;  with  four  companies  of  the 
First  Dragoons,  all  commanded  byBrev.  Major  W.  N.  Grier, 
who  had  with  him  Lieut.  Henry  B.  Davidson,  William  D. 
Pender  and  David  McM.  Gregg.  I  believe  these  were  all  the 
officers  of  dragoons  present  in  the  expedition  under  command 
of  Col.  George  Wright. 

Lieutenant  John  Mullan,  Second  artillery,  had  command  of 
a  band  of  friendly  Nez  Perces,  who  served  as  scouts. 

Lieutenant  James  L.  White,  Third  artillery,  had  charge  of 
the  two  mountain  howitzers  and  detachment  to  serve  them. 

I  depend  on  my  memory  for  what  I  write.  We  had  a  very 
wholesome  respect  for  those  Indians  who  had  so  thoroughly 
defeated  Steptoe's  command.  We  were  constantly  armed, 
even  sleeping  on  our  arms. 

We  crossed  the  Snake  River  at  Fort  Taylor  late  in  August, 
the  Indians  hanging  around  us  from  the  start.  On  the  30th  of 
August  we  had  a  harassing  day,  because  of  the  heat,  the 
absence  of  water  along  the  trail  and  because  of  the  enemy 
hung  close  to  us,  but  doing  us  no  damage.  We  suffered  greatly 
from  thirst.  I  remember  passing  a  small  marsh  where  you 


99 


could  wet  your  throat  by  getting  down  on  your  face  and 
sucking  up  the  moisture. 

After  we  had  passed  this  place,  the  column  pushing  on 
rapidly  with  the  pack  train  to  get  into  camp  and  being  closely 
pressed  by  the  Indians  who  were  firing  upon  us,  my  captain 
told  me  that  two  of  his  men  had  fallen  out  to  visit  that  marsh 
and  wished  that  I  would  go  after  them  and  bring  them  in.  I 
knew  that  if  any  few  men  had  fallen  to  the  rear  and  were  not 
then  with  the  column,  they  very  likely  had  been  scalped.  I 
fell  back  alone  and  kept  going  until  I  reached  the  rearguard 
and  saw  the  savages  firing  at  us.  I  knew  that  if  those  two  men 
had  not  returned  to  the  column,  they  would  never  return. 
When  I  reported  to  my  captain  where  I  had  been  and  had  not 
seen  the  men,  he  told  me,  "It's  all  right;  the  men  are  here." 
This  reminded  me  of  a  story  I  had  heard  of  an  occurrence 
in  the  Florida  war,  of  an  inexperienced  captain  ordering  a 
young  lieutenant  in  the  Everglades  to  go  forward  alone  and 
draw  the  enemy's  fire. 

The  next  day,  August  31st,  we  remained  in  camp  for  "mus 
ter."  September  1st  we  marched  out  and  engaged  the  Indians 
in  the  Combat  of  the  Four  Lakes,  driving  them  before  us  to 
our  great  satisfaction  and  to  their  great  surprise.  Of  the 
subsequent  engagement  I  remember  but  very  little.  I  suppose 
Kip's  book  "Army  life  on  the  Pacific,"  which  I  have  some 
where  but  cannot  lay  hand  on  just  now,  has  the  entire  cam 
paign  described. 

In  one  of  these  combats  my  captain  sent  me  off  alone  to 
draw  the  enemy's  fire,  after  the  manner  of  the  Florida  war 
captain;  that  is,  to  get  so  near  the  enemy  that  he  would  be 
tempted  to  fire  at  me,  so  that  we  would  know  that  he  was 
there;  and,  although  I  might  be  shot,  the  rest  of  the  command 
would  be  warned  and  saved.  I  came  out  all  right,  and  my  cap 
tain  was  thence  forward  complimentary  of  my  soldierly  qual 
ities.  He  wanted  me  brevetted  captain,  but  they  at  Washing 
ton  did  not  at  that  time  appreciate  what  it  was  to  be  in  an  In 
dian  fight  .  .  that  the  hole  made  by  an  Indian-fired  bullet  was 
just  as  large  as  one  made  by  a  white  man. 

My  captain  was  a  brave  man.  He  had  no  fear  for  himself. 
While  at  Fort  Miller  a  friend  of  his  was  bitten  by  a  rattle 
snake.  The  captain,  with  a  mount  in  bad  condition,  proceeded 
at  once  to  suck  the  wound.  The  friend  was  saved  and  the  cap 
tain  did  not  suffer.  Some  years  later,  the  captain,  then  major 
general,  was  wounded  in  front  of  Richmond.  I  saw  him  on  a 
hospital  boat  on'  the  James  river,  lying  on  a  bed  with  his  face 
downward.  He  had  not  been  shot  in  front;  he  was  on  his  way 
home  to  get  well  of  his  wound. 

I  said  to  him;  "I  congratulate  you". 

He  asked:  "Why  so?". 

"Because  you  are  going  home,"  I  answered  I  said  "I  wish 
I  had  your  wound  that  I  might  go  home". 

He  laughed  heartily  and  seened  to  agree  with  me  that  after 
four  years  of  war  itwasnotabad  thing  to  get  ordered  home. 

On  our  march  through  the  Indian  country,  we  searched  for 
Indian  caches  containing  food,  and whenfound burned  the  con 
tents. 

We  captured  about  1400  ponies,  and  after  each  officer  had 
selected  one  for  his  own  use,  the  remainder  were  corraled 
and  company  after  company,  in  turn,  marched  up  and  fired 
into  them  until  the  muskets  of  the  company  became  fouled, 
when  the  company  marched  off  and  was  succeeded  by  another, 
until  all  the  ponies  were  slain. 


While  this  judicious  slaughter  was  going  on,  the  Indians 
were  assembled  on  the  distant  hills,  looking  on  at  the  des 
truction  of  their  wealth.  This  was  their  Gettsburg.  If  the 
ponies  had  not  been  slain,  the  Indians  would  most  certainly 
have  come  in  the  night,  stampeded  them  and  got  them  back. 

I  have  stated  that  each  of  the  officers  selected  a  pony  for 
himself  but  it  was  with  the  understanding  that  in  case  the  ani 
mal  was  not  satisfactory,  he  must  be  shot  he  must  not  be 
turned  loose.  One  of  the  officers  whom  I  will  call  Lieutenant 
X,  had  selected  a  beautiful  pony  for  his  own  use,  and  which 
he  would  ride  at  once.  The  officers  decided  to  let  more  con 
fident  riders  break  theirs  for  them. 

Among  Lieutenant  Mullan's  Nez  Perces  was  one  called 
"Cut  Mouth  John,"  who  was  very  much  around  the  officers 
and  men.  He  was  looked  upon  as  rather  a  cultus  (Cultus,  a 
chinook  word  meaning  worthless,  no  good;  the  opposite  of 
"skookum"  which  is  heap  good,  all  right.  There  is  no  author 
ity  for  stating  that  it  is  a  corruption  of  the  English  stem 
"cult"  though  there  may  seem  a  warrant  for  it  because  the 
Indians  look  with  contempt  upon  him  who  cultivated  the  soil. 
Compiler.)  He  would  take  what  he  could  get,  and  as  scalps 
of  the  enemy  killed  incombatwere  scarce,  received  a  prom 
ise  from  Lieutenant  that  he  would  give  him,  Cut  Mouth,  the 
pony  if  he  decided  not  to  keep  him. 

The  pony  behaved  very  well  for  a  day  or  two,  and  the  Lieu 
tenant  was  congratulated  by  his  more  cautious  associates  on 
his  success  as  a  rider  of  Indian  ponies,  but  one  day  as  the 
column  was  marching  along  and  Lieutenant  X  riding  his  pony, 
the  latter  shot  out  from  the  column  and  after  some  tall  buck- 
jumping,  to  appreciate  which  you  must  experience  it  on  a 
strong,  healthy  mustang's  back,  threw  X  with  much  force, 
and  then  ran  for  the  nearest  water. 

The  animal  was  caught  up  and  Lieutenant  X  mounted  him 
again,  and  as  he  once  more  showed  symptoms  of  bucking, 
the  column  halted;  then  the  lieutenant  slid  from  the  animal's 
back  and  called  to  his  company  to  know  if  there  was  any  man 
who  thought  he  could  ride  the  pony.  One  man  volunteered,  and, 
he  being  thrown,  the  lieutenant  asked  again  for  a  volunteer. 
The  answer  was,  "No,  lieutenant  nobody  wants  to  try  him." 
The  lieutenant  thereupon  ordered  him  to  be  taken  to  the  rear 
and  shot. 

Cut  Mouth  John  learned  of  the  shooting  of  the  pony  prom 
ised  to  him  by  Lt.  X  and  went  at  once  to  the  lieutenant  to 
complain  of  his  failure  to  keep  his  promise.  Lt.  X  could  only 
explain  that  he  had  forgotten  all  about  his  promise,  but  said 
that  in  lieu  of  the  pony  he  would  give  the  Indian  a  colored 
shirt.  Cut  Mouth,  being  short  of  underwear,  and  having  but 
a  scant  amount  of  baggage  along,  accepted  the  substitute  with 
satisfaction. 

Having  destroyed  the  ponies  and  all  the  caches  we  found 
satisfaction. 

Having  destroyed  the  ponies  and  all  the  caches  we  found 

we  pushed  on  as  far  as  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission,  which  we 
found  to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Rev.  Jesuit  Fathers, 
the  chief  of  whom  was  Father  Joset,  and  who  was  very  kind 
to  us,  giving  us  fresh  potatoes,  from  their  store  for  which 
we  were  thankful.  The  fathers  interceded  for  the  belligerent 
Indians,  who  promised  to  be  better  in  the  future  than  they 
had  been  recently,  and  peace  was  made. 

The  Indians  having  been  disciplined,  we  had  no  further 
business  in  that  country  and  after  resting  ourselves  and  our 
beasts,  we  retraced  our  steps  and  moved  toward  Fort  Taylor, 


100 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


Fort  Walla  Walla,  Fort  Dalles,  Fort  Cascades  and  Fort  Van 
couver,  at  which  post  we  arrived  in  October. 

On  our  way  back,  we  halted  on  some  creek,  encamped  in  a 
hollow  while  a  detachment  of  dragoons  was  sent  off  to  recover 
two  guns  that  had  been  cached  and  left  by  the  Steptoe  expe 
dition  after  the  combat  of  Te-hots-nim-me.  While  here  a 
notorious  Indian  murderer  named  Qualchen,  son  of  Owyhee, 
with  a  beautiful  Indian  woman  rode  into  camp.  He  seemed 
dazed.  He  had  seen  the  detachment  of  dragoons  going  for  the 
guns  and,  thinking  our  entire  detachment  of  dragoons  was 
gone,  dropped  into  our  camp.  He  stopped  in  front  of  Colonel 
Wright's  tent,  where  the  officer  of  the  day  Capt.  Keyes,  Third 
artillery,  happened  to  be.  Keyes  took  Qualchen's  gun  from  be 
hind  him  and  told  him  to  dismount,  which  he  did.  The  beau 
tiful  squaw  did  not  stop,  but  went  on  out  of  camp,  passing 
right  by  me  as  I  stood  by  my  tent.  We  never  saw  her  again. 
Qualchen  was  sentenced  by  Colonel  Wright  to  be  hanged 
that  day,  and  Capt.  James  A.  Hardie,  who  succeeded  Capt. 
Keyes  as  officer  of  the  day,  was  charged  with  the  execution 
of  the  unpleasant  duty. 

How  we  got  possession  of  Owyhee,  I  do  not  now  remember, 
but  I  think  he  gave  himself  up;  and  Colonel  Wright  told  him 
to  go  out  and  bring  in  his  murderous  son,  Qualchen  and  he 
would  spare  his,  Owyhee's,  life.  Owyhee  went  offbut  did  not 
find  his  unpromising  son,  but  came  back  after  Qualchen  had 
been  hung.  He  was  then  kept  under  guard,  and  it  was  the 
intention  to  take  him  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  there  to  abide  the 
action  of  the  department  commander. 

After  the  dragoons  had  returned  from  the  Steptoe  field  with 
the  cannon,  we  marched  for  Fort  Taylor,  where  we  must  have 
tarried  for  a  few  days.  Here  they  put  us  lieutenants  on  the 
roster  of  officers  of  the  day.  We  hadbeen  going  on  guard  as 
officers  of  the  guard,  and  on  the  day  we  started  from  Fort 
Taylor,  I  was  officer  of  the  day  and  had  charge  of  Owyhee. 
While  I  and  the  Indian  chief  were  mounted,  my  guard  of 
three  or  four  men  were  on  foot.  I  had  my  pistol  in  my  belt 
and  on  my  left  hip.  The  Indian  rode  on  my  right.  As  we 
approached  a  creek,  the  Tucannon,  Owyhee  dropped  behind 
a  little,  looking  at  me;  as  I  supposed  afterwards,  it  was  to 
see  if  I  was  armed.  He  saw  no  pistol,  and  as  we  came  to  the 
stream  my  guard  went  up  to  cross  over  the  stream  on  a  fallen 
tree,  leaving  me  alone  with  the  Indian. 

This  was  Owyhee's  opportunity;  he  cut  me  repeatedly 
across  the  eyes. and  face  with  his  whip,  and,  cutting  his  pony, 
quickly  crossed  the  creek;  and  I,  getting  over  my  surprise, 
put  after  him,  drawing  my  revolver,  cocking  it  and  shooting 
at  him.  My  horse  belonged  to  the  government  and  was  not  the 


best.  I  kept  near  the  fugitive  angry  because  I  feared  he  might 
escape,  and  that  would  end  my  military  career.  I  put  three 
bullets  into  him  and,  getting  him  up  into  a  cul-de-sac  from 
which  he  could  not  escape  except  by  passing  through  the 
command  which  had  preceded  me  in  crossing  the  creek,  I 
held  him  there  until  a  trooper  rode  up.  The  pistol  shots  had 
been  heard  and  had  alarmed  the  portion  of  the  command 
nearest  me. 

Some  of  the  dragoons  rushed  toward  me,  the  nearest  being 
Sergeant  Ball,  afterward  Major  Edward  Ball.  Owhyee  sat 
motionless  on  his  pony  between  me  and  the  sergeant.  I  had 
exhausted  all  the  charges  in  my  pistol,  and  told  Ball  to  shoot 
the  Indian,  which  he  did,  Owyhee  falling  from  his  pony.  Every 
thing  he  had  about  him  or  his  pony  was  at  once  seized  by 
Mullan's  Nez  Perces.  I  took  his  handsome  saddle,  covered 
with  brass  nails,  which  I  afterward  gave  to  the  army  surgeon, 
Barnes,  at  Fort  Vancouver,  who  later  became  surgeon- 
general  of  the  army  in  the  War  of  the  Rebillion,  and  who 
attended  President  Linclon  when  he  was  shot  by  Booth  at 
Ford's  theater  in  Washington. 

Colonel  Wright  called  upon  me  for  a  written  report  of  all 
that  had  taken  place,  which  I  gave.  Owyhee  did  not  die  until 
sunset.  There  was  an  an  ante-mortem  examination  of  the 
body  which  substantiated  all  that  I  had  reported. 

Next  morning  we  marched  on  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  where 
we  were  hospitably  treated  by  those  whom  we  had  left  there. 
We,  of  the  artillery,  bade  goodbye  to  our  comrades  of  the 
dragoons  and  infantry,  and  proceeded  to  Fort  Vancouver,  via 
Fort  Dalles  and  Cascades.  Shortly  after  we  reached  Van 
couver,  Brigadier  General  Harney  arrived  there  to  take 
command  and  prosecute  the  war  against  the  Spokanes  and 
allied  tribes.  General  Harney  found  that  the  war  was  over 
and  peace  reigned  throughout  his  department  and  so  con 
tinued  until  the  Nez  Perces  outbreak  in  1877. 

As  peace  reigned,  General  Harney,  as  instructed  from 
Washington,  made  public  orders  sending  CaptainOrd  with  his 
officers  and  the  skeleton  of  his  company,  four  non-com 
missioned  officers,  to  the  artillery  school  for  practice  at 
Fort  Monroe,  Va.  There  I  remained  from  January  1,  1859,  to 
the  12th  of  August,  1861,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  service 
at  Harper's  Ferry  at  the  time  of  the  John  Brown  raid  in  the 
fall  of  1859,  when  I  took  my  place  with  those  who  served  the 
government  in  opposition  to  secession  and  rebellion. 


Michael  R.  Morgan 

Brigadier  General  U.  S.  Army,  retired. 


MORGAN'S  RECOLLECTIONS 


101 


24 


Smohalla  and  His  Cult 


Appearing  at  intervals  in  the  body  of  American  history, 
are  to  be  discerned  individual  Indians,  usually  of  the  non- 
combatant  class,  who  have  left  their  imprint  on  the  warpath 
as  it  leads  down  among  the  struggles  of  the  natives  and  the 
whites.  The  mission  of  these  men  has  been  to  urge  their  fel 
lows  on  to  war  with  a  religious  zeal  not  incomparable  to  the 
holy  wars  which  have  punctuated  the  history  of  all  mankind. 
From  Powhatten  and  Massasoit  down  to  Sitting  Bull  and 
Joseph,  not  all  the  bloody  wars  with  the  natives  can  be  at 
tributed  solely  to  superficial  race  antagonism. 

One  should  not  be  surprised  at  finding  a  deeper  ethnolog 
ical  antipathy.  The  friction  has  not  been  a  clash  of  mere 
churlishness  of  the  surface  of  racial  life,  but  originated  in 
the  very  stripes  of  the  commnal  interests  of  the  opposing 
factors.  The  transition  from  resentment  in  the  Indian  breast 
at  the  early  visits  of  Europeans  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
on  through  years  of  antagonism  on  to  bloody  hatred  can  be 
accounted  for  by  the  mere  superficies  of  the  situation. 

Such  terms  as  "Great  Spirit",  "Feast  of  the  Green  Corn" 
and  the  "Totem  of  the  Snake"  have  found  their  way  into  liter 
ature.  But  to  the  Aryan  mind  it  has  not  been  given  to  compre 
hend  all  that  the  Indian  understood  perfectly  and  assimilated 
easily  and  readily.  It  mightbe  remarked  that  we  modern  Indo- 
Europeans  have  not  been  able  to  understand  each  other  of  to 
day  on  religious  topics.  Some  smile  when  others  go  to  Simla 
in  the  hope  of  catching  some  inspiration  of  that  elusive  idea 
which  held  sway  when  the  Aryan  was  young. 

What  then,  can  be  alleged  of  the  strength  of  the  type  of  re 
ligious  belief  in  a  race  which  has  been  sequestered  from  the 
"modern  nation"  for  so  many  ages  of  the  world's  develop 
ment  that  our  polished  civilization  has  not  yet  dared  to  as 
sert  the  place  or  the  time  when  the  American  aborigine  sev 
ered  relations  with  the  rest  of  human  kind  ? 

It  has  been  the  fancy  to  credit  to  a  rude  military  prowess 
and  physical  skill  the  selection  of  the  dominating  personal 
ities  among  the  Indians,  but  ithasnotbeen  the  fashion  to  re 
gard  Indian  stoicism  as  separate  and  apart  from  Indian  as 
ceticism.  Nor  has  there  been  attributed  to  the  Indian  any 
thing  of  mysticism,  beyond  the  outward  form  of  queer  cere 
monial  rites. 

Looking  back  over  the  pages  of  American  history,  it  may 
be  no  ted  that  be  hind  Pontiac  in  his  conspiracy  lay  his  brother, 
known  as  the  Delaware  prophet.  Before  Tecumseh  precipa- 
tated  himself  into  the  conflict  which  resulted  disastruosly  for 
him  at  Tippecanoe,  he  consulted  his  brother,  Tenskwatawa, 
known  as  the  Shawano  prophet,  and  claiming  himself  to  be 
the  direct  lineal  inspired  successor  of  the  Delaware  prophet. 


It  is  not  to  the  purpose  of  these  pages  to  enter  upon  a  dis 
quisition  touching  the  whole  line  of  Indian  prophets  which  have 
held  sway  over  their  kind  and  urged  chief  and  brave  alike  on 
to  battle.  The  United  States  ethnological  bureau  has  estab 
lished  the  fact  that  Indian  warchief  and  Indian  mystic  stalk 
through  the  field  of  events  hand  in  hand;  and  it  is  not  sur 
prising  to  learn  that  Kamiahkin  had  his  Smohalla  and  Joseph 
his  Toothulhulsote.  These  mystics  have  been  the  Hermit 
Peters,  the  fanatics,  the  frenzied,  the  paranoiacs;  but  in  their 
day  and  generation  they  were  active,  living  issues,  and  their 
theories  and  teachings  were  potent. 

The  known  facts  of  Smohalla's  life  are  not  numerous,  and 
those  which  have  been  learned  are  the  result  of  investigations 
pursued  by  Maj.  Junius  W.  MacMurray,  acting  under  instruc 
tion  of  General  Nelson  A.  Miles.  Major  MacMurray  passed 
many  months  with  Smohalla  and  his  followers  and  the  results 
of  his  labors  are  preserved  in  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
ethnology. 

Smohalla  was  born  about  1815  or  1820  in  the  Columbia 
valley  in  Central  Washington.  His  tribe  was  a  comparatively 
insignificant  one  of  only  a  few  hundred  souls,  called  the 
Wanapum.  The  remnant  of  them  is  found  to  be  of  the  same 
stock  as  the  YakimasandNezPerces.Whilea  comparatively 
young  man  Smohalla  visited  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  of 
the  Ahtanum  river,  in  the  Yakima  valley,  and  became  more 
or  less  familiar  with  the  religious  forms  there  seen,  learning 
somewhat  of  the  French  language  spoken  by  the  priests.  Al 
ready  well  on  the  road  to  selection  as  a  war  chief  and  being 
regarded  by  the  Columbia  river  Indians  as  a  personage  of 
importance,  he  suddenly  altered  the  course  of  his  life  in 
1850  and  began  to  preach  his  peculiar  doctrine.  That  his 
missionary  work  among  the  various  tribes  contributed  to 
the  facility  with  which  Kamiakin  framed  his  scheme  of  con 
federation  in  1856,  cannot  be  doubted.  Filled  with  the  enthu 
siasm  of  a  zealot,  he  nearly  forgot  his  doctrines  and  aspired 
to  military  leadership.  He  called  a  council  of  various  tribes 
at  his  village  of  Pna  on  the  Columbia  in  the  vicinity  of  Priest 
Rapids,  but  Kamiahkin  and  the  main  band  of  the  Yakimas 
failed  to  join  the  movement,  and  the  laurels  of  leadership  in 
the  few  bright  months  when  the  star  of  Kamiahkin  was  in  the 
ascendant  were  not  on  the  brow  of  Smohalla.  Yet  the  war 
chief  and  the  fanatical  agitator  found  it  convenient  to  work  in 
harmony. 

It  was  shortly  after  the  war  of  1858  that  an  incident 
occurred  which  completely  upset  Somhalla's  temporal  am 
bition  For  ten  years  he  had  been  becoming  less  and  less  a 
warrior  and  more  and  more  a  medicine  man.  While  the 


103 


fighting  spirit  still  burned  he  became  embrioled  with  Moses, 
a  well  known  chief,  farther  up  the  Columbia  and  a  man  of 
commanding  character  even  among  the  early  white  settlers. 
But  Smohalla  did  not  fight  with  weapons  in  open  warfare.  He 
"made  bad  medicine"  against  Moses  and  his  great  tribe,  and 
the  latter  after  a  period  of  wild  frenzy  at  the  prospect  of 
being  taken  off  in  a  mysterious  way,  ultimately  discovered 
that  Smohalla  seemed  powerless  to  harm  them  by  his  threats 
and  incantation.  Duing  one  of  these  buoyant  periods,  they 
engaged  the  Wanapum  in  battle.  Smohalla  was  left  upon  the 
bank  of  the  Columbia  for  dead. 

It  was  years  before  Smohalla  appeared  in  his  old  haunts. 
On  his  return  he  told  a  story  which  smacks  of  what  he  might 
have  remembered  of  the  finding  of  the  leader  of  the  Israe- 
lities  in  a  boat  by  the  daughter  of  the  Egyptain  king. 

However  Smohalla  came  by  the  idea,  there  was  a  Moses 
and  a  boat  in  the  story  of  his  miraculous  escape  from  death. 

Major  MacMurray  was  of  the  opinion  that  Smohalla  was 
chagrined  at  the  defeat  he  had  suffered  and  feared  the  loss  of 
prestige  among  his  own  people  if  he  returned  at  once.  During 
his  stay  at  Pna  the  officer  learned  the  following  story  of 
Smohalla's  claim  to  knowledge. 

Recovering  on  the  battlefield  sufficiently  to  crawl  to  the 
river,  he  found  a  canoe  and  on  it  floated  away.  Returning 
consciousness  found  him  installed  under  the  fostering  care 
of  a  strange  tribe.  Upon  his  complete  recovery,  he  left  his 
benefactors  and  set  out  to  visit  unknown  places  of  the  earth. 
How  many  years  he  was  absent  is  not  stated,  but  his  people 
had  given  him  up  as  dead  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  story  he  told  on  reaching  Pna  is  a  wonderfully  curious 
thing.  He  announced  that  he  had  been  dead,  and  the  people 
beleived  it;  they  had  plenty  of  witnesses  to  his  death  in  the 
battle  with  Moses  years  before.  He  had  been  raised  to  life 
again;  his  people  believed  this,  for  they  recognized  him  in 
the  flesh  and  blood.  During  his  absence  he  had  been  made 
the  recipient  of  a  divine  revelation;  that  was  believed  be 
cause  the  people  of  the  spirit  world  had  cared  for  him  and 
sent  him  back  to  them,  and  such  a  seer  as  Smohalla  had  been 
in  his  previous  life  on  earth  was  sure  to  add  to  his  store  of 
knowledge  which  he  obtained  while  sojourning  among  those 
who  live  beyond  the  confines  of  terrestrial  life.  Smohalla's 
reappearance  among  his  chosen  people  was,  to  the  ocular, 
demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  spirits  to  take  a  favored 
being  bodily  from  among  them  and  after  giving  him  a  course 
of  study  in  their  extra-undane  school,  return  him  safely  as 
a  teacher  among  them. 

Major  MacMurray  put  the  old  fellow  through  a  severe 
cross-examination  as  to  his  wanderings.  The  officer  exhibited 
to  him  a  map,  and  Smohalla  satisfied  with  this  pointed  out 
the  location  of  points  he  had  visited.  The  major  was  satisfied 
with  this.  He  himself  had  traveled  over  the  Rocky  mountains 
and  coast  region  and  was  familiar  with  landscape  features  of 
many  of  the  places  claimed  by  Smohalla  to  have  been  visited 
by  him.  But  Smohalla  mentioned  natural  features  of  certain 
localities  with  such  minute  detail  that  Major  MacMurray  was 
satisfied  that  he  had  seen  the  things  described.  The  officer 
in  his  report,  maintains  that  the  old  prophet  must  have  visited 
in  person  certain  localities  in  California,  Mexico,  Arizona, 
Utah  and  Nevada.  Smohalla  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  in 
Utah,  though  he  denied  that  he  had  visited  Salt  Lake  City.  He 
told  how  he  had  seen  Mormon  Priests  receiving  commands 
direct  from  heaven. 


Whatever  may  be  left  in  the  alembic  of  the  white  man's 
mind  concerning  Smohalla  and  his  teachings,  the  residuum 
in  the  Indian  scheme  of  things  was  indispu table. Smohallism 
became  a  gospel  and  Smohalla  a  demi-god,  not  a  demagogue. 
At  the  proper  moment  Smohalla  boldly  proclaimed  himself  to 
be  a  special  messenger  of  the  "Saghala  Tyee,"  the  spirit 
above  which  controlled  the  destinies  of  the  Indians,  who  had 
long  been  angry  with  his  people  because  they  had  departed 
from  the  ways  and  customs  of  their  fathers.  He  declared  that 
the  race  was  doomed,  because  it  had  forsaken  primitive 
things;  that  it  had  violated  precepts  of  nature.  On  this  basis 
was  the  religious  system  placed  before  them;  a  strange 
mixture  of  aboriginal  ideas  and  ancient  Indian  mythology,  in 
which  were  curiously  interwoven  elements  which  appear  to 
have  been  suggested  from  white  sources. 

This  revamped  Smohallism  was  abreast  of  the  age.  It  has 
an  elaborate  ritual,  in  whichwere  mingled  some  forms  which 
might  have  been  taken  from  the  Catholic  missionaries  or 
suggested  by  Mormon  ceremonies.  Smohalla  had  carried 
things  vastly  farther  than  he  had  done  in  the  decade  between 
1850  and  1860;  and  improvement  which  was  perfectly  natural 
to  one  who  had  made  great  strides  in  knowledge  while  in  the 
tutelage  of  the  savants  of  another  world.  Previously,  he  had 
contented  himself  with  preaching  the  gospel  of  a  coming 
Indian  redeemer  and  urging  the  necessity  of  preparation  for 
his  arrival  by  uniting  all  the  Indians  and  driving  out  all  the 
whites. 

There  was  one  other  feature  yet  to  be  developed  before 
Smohallism  came  to  be  colloquially  known  among  the  whites 
of  the  region  as  "Dreamerism."  Smohalla  turned  trance 
artist  and  thus  again  established  the  divine  origin  of  his  mis 
sion.  By  the  time  Major  MacMurray  had  reached  Pna,  Smo 
halla  had  become  an  adept  in  the  practices  usually  credited 
to  the  Hindu  faker.  Needles  thrust  into  his  limbs,  produced 
no  demonstration  of  pain.  Incisions  in  his  body  were  followed 
by  no  effusion  of  blood.  The  Indians  called  this  death,  and 
the  demises  and  resurrections  were  looked  upon  with  awe. 
It  came  about  that  whenever  Smohalla  wanted  to  create  an 
especially  profound  impression  he  would  "die"  only  to  be 
resurrected  with  a  new  and  fresh  message  from  "Sahhala 
Tyee"  directly  bearing  upon  the  point  that  he  at  the  moment 
desired  to  drive  home.  It  is  stated  that  he  often  threatened  to 
go  back  to  the  Tyee  for  good  and  all,  leaving  his  followers 
to  a  dire  fate,  if  they  did  not  conform  to  his  teachings. 

That  Smohalla  was  a  mountebank  and  knowingly  practiced 
deception  upon  his  people  is  shown  in  a  story  related  by 
Major  MacMurray.  The  old  fellow  came  into  possession  of 
an  almanac  and  a  party  of  surveyors  explained  that  on  a 
certain  date  there  would  be  an  eclipse.  This  information 
came  just  at  a  time  when  the  followers  had  begun  to  question 
the  occult  powers  of  their  leader.  With  all  the  dramatic  set 
ting  possible  he  preached  a  sermon  and  uttered  denunciations 
and  called  upon  the  heavens  to  be  obscured.  As  the  eclipse 
progressed,  his  followers  became  frantic;  and  at  the  proper 
moment,  with  the  greatest  possible  effect  Smohalla  ordered 
the  sun  to  reappear,  not  instantly,  but  slowly  and  gradually. 
For  a  few  months  Smohalla's  authority  was  supreme. 

Not  understanding  the  exact  causes  of  an  eclipse  and  feel 
ing  that  the  time  had  come  when  another  demonstration  of 
his  powers  would  have  a  salutary  effect,  Smohalla  in  the 
succeeding  year,  repeated  his  prophecy  and  set  the  same  day 


104 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


and  hour,  and  with  a  disastrous  result.  When  Major  Mac- 
Murray  visited  Pna  in  1884  the  old  fellow  brought  about 
another  eclipse.  The  almanac  was  of  the  year  1882  and  Smo- 
halla  asked  the  officer  to  fix  from  it  astronomical  date  for 
1884.  Of  course,  the  officer  was  unable  to  supply  the  date  for 
another  prediction:  "This  cost  me  much  of  his  respect  as 
A  wise  man  from  the  East"  observed  Major  MacMurray. 

Smohalla  is  described  by  the  officer  named  in  this  lan 
guage:  "In  person,  Smohalla  is  peculiar— short,  thick-set* 
bald-headed  and  almost  hunch-backed;  he  is  not  prepossing 
at  first  sight;  but  he  has  an  almost  Websterian  head,  with 
a  deep  brown  over  bright,  intelligent  eyes."  General  Howard 
also  mentions  the  abnormally  large  head  of  the  old  Indian 
prophet. 

It  may  not  be  unreasonable,  by  way  of  explanation  of  Smo 
halla' s  confessed  mental  powers  and  his  remarkable  control 


of  his  fellows,  that  he  was  endowed  with  unusual  intellectual 
faculties  which  were  at  times  warped  andaffectedby  the  ab 
normalities  found  coexistent  with  hydrocephalus  and  certain 
injuries  to  the  spinal  column. 

Charlatan,  religious  zealot  or  plain  paranoiac,  Smohalla 
possessed  an  influence  and  a  sway  over  his  day  and  genera 
tion,  which  cannot  be  gainsaid.  One  does  not  have  to  search 
very  far  into  bygone  history,  to  understand  that  members  of 
the  white  race  gravely  asserted  that  there  was  merit  and  good 
or  bad,  fortune  to  be  obtained  from  contact  with  a  hunchback. 
These  unfortunates  and  eccentrics  have  amused,  and  they 
have  terrorized  the  courts  of  Anglo-Saxon  monarchs;  they 
have  wielded  an  influence  over  both  nations  and  religions. 

That  Smohalla  had  definite  and  clear-cut  ideas  concerning 
his  own  cosmogony  and  theology,  will  be  seen  from  an  exam 
ination  of  his  recorded  theories,  teachings  and  ceremonies. 


SMOHALLA  AND  HIS  CULT 


105 


25 


Forms  and  Ceremonies 


The  first  recognition  of  the  cult  of  Smohallism  to  appear 
in  the  government  records  is  found  in  a  report  from  the 
superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  of  Oregon  in  1870,  and  even 
at  that  time  Smohalla's  personality  is  not  mentioned.  The 
fact  had  become  well  known  that  the  dissatisfaction  among  the 
Indians  was  closely  related  with  the  sect  known  and  described 
by  the  term,  Dreamers,  for  by  this  time  many  of  Smohalla's 
leading  disciples  had  developed  the  ability  to  enter  into  a 
trance  state.  In  his  communication  to  the  Indian  bureau,  the 
Oregon  agent  made  a  statement  concerning  the  sect  which 
constitutes  a  brief  and  clear  definition  of  the  central  thought 
of  the  Smohalla  religion.  He  wrote: 

They  have  a  new  and  peculiar  religion,  by  the  doctrines 
of  which  they  are  taught  that  a  new  god  is  coming  to  their 
rescue  that  all  the  Indians  who  have  died  heretofore,  and 
who  shall  die  hereafter,  are  to  be  resurrected;  that,  as 
they  will  then  be  very  numerous  and  powerful,  they  will  be 
able  to  conquer  the  whites,  recover  their  lands  and  live  as 
free  and  unrestrained  as  their  fathers  lived  in  the  olden 
times.  Their  model  of  a  man  is  an  Indian.  They  aspire  to 
be  Indians,  and  nothing  else. 

As  the  doomed  victim  of  a  fatal  malady  longs  for  the 
strength  and  independence  which  was  once  his  with  such  a 
longing  that  the  visions  become  almost  realities  so  in  the 
breast  of  the  already  stricken  native  of  the  Pacific  Northwest 
there  clung  and  thrived  the  inspiriting  dream  of  an  ultimate 
racial  sovereignty.  The  result  was  a  strong  undercurrent,  at 
first  invisible  to  the  white  comprehension,  which  fomented 
opposition  to  setting  the  Indians  off  on  reservations. 
Smohalla  seized  the  opportunity  to  foster  this  longing  of 
the  Indian  heart.  If  he  did  not  invent  forms  and  cermonies 
which  could  fix  the  attention  of  the  hopeful  native,  he  appro 
priated  and  revamped  them.  He  took  from  ancient  Indian 
mythology,  as  it  has  been  understood  by  the  whites  ever 
since  they  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  he  adapted  from  the  forms 
of  modern  white  civilization.  From  elements  of  varied  origin 
he  braided  a  bond  which  was  most  attractive  for  uniting  the 
natives  in  a  common  cause. 

Major  Mac  Murray,  in  his  efforts  to  get  at  the  root  of 
opposition  plan  of  land  grants  to  the  natives,  induced  Smo 
halla  to  recite  to  him  the  prophet's  scheme  of  cosmogony  as 
he  understood  it.  The  officer  makes  no  attempt  to  dissect  the 
tenets  or  ascribe  any  origin  whatever  to  the  different  ideas. 
Some  of  it  is  as  old  as  the  twilight  of  recognized  history,  and 
some  of  it  indicates  a  very  circumscribed  and  material  out 
look.  This  ex-cathedral  utterance  of  the  old  chief  is  as  fol 
lows: 


Once  the  world  was  all  water  and  God  lived  alone.  He 
was  lonesome,  he  had  no  place  to  put  his  foot;  so  he 
scratched  the  sand  up  from  the  bottom  and  made  the  land, 
and  he  made  the  rocks,  and  he  made  the  trees  and  he  made 
man;  and  the  man  had  wings  and  could  go  anywhere.  The 
man  was  lonesome,  and  God  made  a  woman.  They  ate  fish 
from  the  water,  and  God  made  the  deer  and  other  animals, 
and  he  sent  the  man  to  hunt,  and  told  the  woman  to  cook 
the  meat  and  dress  the  skins. 

Many  more  men  and  women  grew  up,  and  they  lived  on 
the  banks  of  the  great  river  whose  waters  were  full  of 
salmon.  The  mountains  contained  much  game,  and  there 
were  buffalo  on  the  plains.  There  were  so  many  people  that 
the  stronger  ones  sometimes  oppressed  the  weak  and 
drove  them  from  the  best  fisheries,  which  they  claimed  as 
their  own.  They  fought,  and  nearly  all  were  killed,  and 
their  bones  are  to  be  seen  in  the  hills  yet. 

God  was  very  angry  at  this,  and  took  away  their  wings 
and  commanded  that  the  lands  and  fisheries  should  be 
common  to  all  who  lived  upon  them,  they  were  never  to  be 
marked  off  or  divided,  but  that  the  people  should  enjoy  the 
fruits  that  God  planted  in  the  land,  and  the  animals  that 
lived  upon  it,  and  the  fishes  in  the  water.  God  said  that  he 
was  law;  that  the  animals,  fish  and  plants  obeyed  nature, 
and   that    man   only   was  sinful.  This  is  the  old  law. 
I  know  all  kinds  of  men.  First  there  were  my  people  God 
made  them  first.  Then  he  made  a  Frenchman,  and  then  he 
made  a  priest.  A  long  time  after  that  came  Boston  men, 
then  King  George  men.  Later  came  black  men  and  last 
God  made  a  Chinaman  with  a  tail.  He  is  of  no  account  and 
has  to  work  all  the  time  like  a  woman.  All  these  are  new 
people.  After  a  while,  when  God  is  ready,  he  will  drive 
away  all  the  people  except  those  who  have  obeyed  his  laws. 
One  must  admit  that  Smohalla  is  somewhat  egocentric 
when  it  comes  to  assigning  order  of  precedence  of  the  var 
ious  kinds  of  men  who  came  within  the  purview  of  his  obser 
vations.  He  seems  not  to  have  known  of  the  accredited  antiq 
uity  of  the  Chinese  race.  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the 
order  of  procession  in  which  they  appeared  in  the  Columbia 
valley  and  came  within  range  of  the  native  observations.  It 
is  historic  fact  that  the  French-Canadian  voyageurs  were  the 
first  whites  to  enter  the  Columbia  valley,  spying  out  the  land 
for  their  great  employer,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which 
after  deciding  to  occupy  the  land,  allowed  priests  to  accom 
pany  the  organized  expedition. 

Assuming  that  Smohalla  did  not  understand  that  the  French 
Canadians  were  employees  of  an  English  corporation  and  had 


107 


never  heard  of  the  visits  of  the  English  vessels  to  Puget 
Sound,  he  was  right  in  placing  the  Boston  men  in  advance  of 
the  English,  for  Captain  Gray  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Co 
lumbia  in  1794. 

In  such  expoundings  of  his  tenets  regarding  land  and  na 
ture,  chiefly  those  made  to  Major  Mac  Murray  and  to  General 
Howard,  Smohalla  made  direct  and  ocgent  application  of  them 
in  arguing  against  going  on  a  reservation.  After  Moses,  the 
antagonist  of  Smohalla  in  his  younger  days,  had  agreed  to  be 
come  a  reservation  Indian  and  during  the  weeks  of  Mac  Mur 
ray's  diplomatic  stay  a  P.  Na,  Smohalla  expressed  himself 
thus:- 

"Those  who  cut  up  the  lands  or  sign  papers  for  lands 
will  be  defrauded  of  their  rights  and  will  be  punished  by 
God's  anger.  Moses  was  bad.  God  did  not  love  him.  He 
sold  his  people's  houses  and  the  graves  of  their  dead.  It 
is  bad  word  that  comes  from  Washington.  It  is  not  a  good 
law  that  would  take  my  people  away  from  me  to  make  them 
sin  against  the  laws  of  God. 

"You  ask  me  to  plow  the  ground!  Shall  I  take  a  knife 
and  tear  my  mother's  bosom?  Then  when  I  die  she  will 
not  take  me  to  her  bosom  to  rest. 

"You  ask  me  to  dig  for  stone!  Shall  I  dig  under  skin  for 
her  bones?  Then  when  I  die  I  cannot  enter  into  her  body 
to  be  born  again. 

"You  ask  me  to  cut  grass  and  make  hay  and  sell  it,  and 
be  rich  like  white  men!  But  how  dare  I  cut  off  my  mother's 
hair? 

"It  is  a  bad  law,  and  my  people  cannot  obey  it.  I  want 
my  people  to  stay  with  me  here.  All  the  dead  men  will 
come  to  life  again.  Their  spirits  will  come  to  their  bodies 
again.  We  must  wait  here  in  the  homes  of  our  fathers  and 
be  ready  to  meet  them  in  the  bosom  of  our  mother." 

In  this  instance  Smohalla's  argument  was  consistent  with 
his  religion.  It  needs  no  imagination  and  no  reasoning  to  un 
derstand  how  such  tenets  as  these  principles  and  theories 
which  strummed  the  heart  strings  of  ages  of  mankindand 
hundreds  of  races  in  primitive  times  -  appealed  to  the  rea 
son  and  to  the  fancy  on  the  Columbia  Indian  crowded  into  a 
narrow  place  and  girdled  by  white  settlements. 

The  ceremonies  of  the  Smohalla  ritual  seem  to  have  been 
conceived  with  the  very  same  idea  for  which  ritualism  seems 
to  have  been  designed  in  the  very  first  instance  to  create  in 
tangible  and  visible  form  a  character  typifying  an  ideal.  It 
will  not  be  denied  that  herein  lies  one  of  the  most  powerful 
of  the  magnetic  forces  which  draws  men  to  the  modern  lodge- 
room.  It  is  innate  in  human  nature  that  the  neophyte  enjoys 
the  protrayal  of  an  historical  character  or  a  legendary  hero 
with  a  keener,  more  personal  interest  and  with  a  more  in 
dividual  and  spiritual  view,  than  that  with  which  he  attends  a 
play  at  a  theater.  To  be  chosen  by  his  fellows  of  a  lodge  to 
enact  one  of  these  typifying  characters  during  an  initiation 
invests  the  lodge  member  with  a  different  kind  of  nerve  than 
that  which  urges  on  the  professional  man  of  the  stage. 

Smohalla  understood  all  this.  He  blended  a  church  and  a 
lodge.  He  provided  a  ceremonial  part  for  every  attendant 
upon  the  service.  He  saw  to  it  that  each  was  in  regalia,  and 
was  properly  in  his  proper  station.  His  attempts  at  creation 
may  have  been  crude  and  his  lodge  room  may  not  have  been 
imposing,  but  they  answered  their  purpose.  From  Major  Mac 
Murray's  work: 


When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  the  sound  of  drums  was 
again  heard,  and  for  days  it  continued.  I  do  not  remember 
that  there  was  any  intermission,  except  for  a  few  minutes 
at  a  time.  Seven  bass  drums  were  used  for  the  purpose. 
I  was  invited  to  be  present,  and  took  great  interest  in  the 
ceremonies,  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  describe. 

There  was  a  small  open  space  to  the  north  of  the  larger 
house,  which  was  Smohalla's  residence  and  the  village 
assembly  room  as  well.  This  space  was  enclosed  by  a 
whitewashed  fence,  made  of  boards  which  had  drifted  down 
the  river.  In  the  middle  was  a  flagstaff,  with  a  rectangular 
flag,  suggesting  a  target.  In  the  center  of  the  flag  was  a 
round  red  patch.  The  field  was  yellow,  representing  grass 
which  is  more  of  a  yellow  hue  in  summer.  A  green  border 
indicated  the  boundary  of  the  world.  The  hills  being  moist 
and  green  near  the  top.  At  the  top  of  the  flag  was  a  small 
extension  of  blue  color,  with  a  white  star  in  the  center, 
Smohalla  explained: 

"This  is  my  flag,  and  it  represents  the  world.  God  told 
me  to  look  after  my  people — all  are  my  people.  There  are 
four  ways  in  the  world — north,  south,  east  and  west.  I  have 
been  all  these  ways.  This  is  the  center.  I  live  here.  The 
red  spot  is  my  heart  — everybody  can  see  it.  The  yellow 
grass  grows  everywhere  around  this  place.  The  green 
mountains  are  tar  away  all  around  the  world.  There  is 
only  water  beyond,  salt  water.  The  blue  (referring  to  the 
blue  cloth  strip)  is  the  sky,  and  the  star  is  the  north  star. 
I  never  change." 

There  are  frequent  services,  a  sort  of  processional 
around  the  outside  of  the  fence,  the  prophet  and  a  small 
boy  with  a  bell,  entering  the  enclosure,  where,  after 
hoisting  the  flag,  he  deli  versa  sort  of  a  sermon.  Captains, 
or  class  leaders,  give  instructions  to  the  people,  who  are 
arranged  according  to  stature,  the  men  and  women  in 
different  classes,  marching  in  single  file  to  the  sound  of 
drums.  There  seems  to  be  a  regular  system  of  signals,  at 
command  of  the  prophet,  by  the  boy  with  the  bell,  upon 
which  the  people  chant  loud  or  low,  quick  or  slow,  or 
remain  silent.  These  outdoor  services  occured  several 
times  each  day. 

Smohalla  invited  me  to  participate  in  what  he  considered 
a  grand  service  within  the  larger  house.  The  house  was 
built  with  a  framework  of  stout  logs  placed  upright  in  the 
ground  and  roofed  over  with  brush,  or  with  canvas  in 
rainy  weather.  The  sides  consisted  of  bark  and  rush 
matting.  It  was  about  75  feet  long  by  25  feet  wide. 

Singing  and  drumming  had  been  going  on  for  sometime 
when  I  arrived.  The  air  resounded  with  the  voices  of  hun 
dreds  of  Indians,  male  and  female,  and  with  the  banging 
of  drums.  Within,  the  room  was  dimly  lighted.  Smoke 
curled  from  a  fire  on  the  floor  at  the  farther  end  and  pre- 
vaded  the  atmosphere.  The  ceiling  was  hung  with  hundreds 
of  salmon,  split  and  drying  in  the  smoke. 

The  scene  was  a  strange  one.  On  either  side  of  the  room 
was  a  row  of  twelve  women  standing  erect  with  arms 
crossed  and  hands  extended  with  finger  tips  at  the  shoul 
ders.  They  kept  time  to  the  drums  and  their  voices  by 
balancing  on  the  balls  of  their  feet  and  tapping  with  their 
heels  on  the  floor,  while  they  chanted  with  varing  pitch 
and  time.  The  excitment  and  persistent  repetition  wore 
them  out,  and  I  heard  that  others  than  Smohalla  had  seen 


108 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


visions  in  their  trances,  but  I  saw  none  who  would  admit 
it  or  explain  anything  of  it.  I  fancied  they  feared  their  own 
action,  and  that  real  death  might  come  to  them  in  this 
simulated  death. 

Those  on  the  right  hand  were  dressed  in  garments  of  a 
red  color,  with  an  attempt  at  uniformity.  Those  on  the  left 
wore  costumes  of  white  buckskin,  said  to  be  very  ancient 
ceremonial  costumes,  with  red  and  blue  trimmings.  All 
wore  large  round  silver  plates  or  such  other  glittering 
ornaments  which  they  possessed.  A  canvas  covered  the 
floor  and  on  it  knelt  the  men  and  boys  in  lines  of  seven. 
Each  seven  as  a  rule  had  shirts  of  the  same  color.  Chil 
dren  and  ancient  hags  filled  any  spare  space.  In  front  on  a 
mattress  knelt  Smohalla,  his  left  hand  covering  his  heart. 
On  his  right  was  the  boy  bellringer  in  similar  posture. 
Smohalla  wore  a  white  array  which  he  was  pleased  to  call 
a  priests  gown.  But  it  was  simply  awhite  cloth  shirt  with 
a  colored  stripe  down  the  back. 

May  one  see  a  suggestion  of  the  acolyte  in  that  boy  attend 
ant?  Was  that  an  attempt  to  imitate  a  processional?  Does  the 
"excitement"  and  its  attendant  physical  exertion  parallel 
"having  the  power"  often  seen  at  the  old  fashioned  camp 
meeting  of  some  sects? 

But  speculation  as  to  the  meaning  of  all  that  ceremony  is 
idle  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind.  To  the  eye  the  spectacle  is 
mere  balderdash,  which  can  give  nothing  of  any  esoteric 
meaning,  if  such  meaning  at  all  the  ceremony  had.  It  is 
impossible  to  note  that  the  ceremony  described  by  Major  Mac 
Murray  had  any  direct  connection  by  way  of  interpreting,  the 
story  of  the  Smohalla  cosmogony,  as  related  by  the  same 
officer.  There  is  apparently  no  connection  whatever  between 
the  Smohalla  scheme  of  the  creation,  the  symbolism  of  the 
Smohalla  flag  and  the  Smohalla  "grand  ceremonial  service." 
Yet  that  crude  trinity,  uninterpretable  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
mind  except  as  a  trio  of  absurdities  merely,  possessed  a 
powerful  influence  over  their  votaries. 

It  is  not  to  the  purpose  of  these  pages  to  set  forth  the 
results  of  the  investigations  of  Major  Mac  Murray  and  others 
by  which  they  established  a  direct  connection  between  the  so- 
called  "ghost  dances"  of  the  Indian  tribes  and  the  sullen 
opposition  encountered  by  the  federal  government  to  the  plan 
of  reservation.  It  is  sufficient  to  note  that  the  ghost  dance  and 
the  Indian  outbreak  went  hand  in  hand.  The  mysterious  bond 
between  them  has  not  been  discovered.  The  actuating  throb 
comes  from  some  point  back  in  the  distant  past,  and  there 
are  some  things  which  for  an  Indian  to  tell  to  a  white  con 
cerning  his  own  race  is  what  passes  for  sacrilege.  The  In 
dian  may  talk  about  it  or  around  it,  but  they  protect  it. 
Doubtless,  traditions  of  the  Indian  past  are  interwoven  in 
their  beliefs  and  their  theories.  The  fantastic  vagaries  of 
nature,  everywhere  discernible  in  the  country  of  the  Col 
umbia,  furnished  endless  food  for  Indian  rumination,  as  it 
has  done  for  scientific  examination.  Modern  scientific  inves 
tigation  has  never  given  a  categorical  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Cplumbia  river  thrust  itself  through  the  Cascade 
range;  but  Indian  mysticism  and  legend  tell  exactly  how  it  was 
done.  One  illustration  of  this  facility  of  adjustment  of  natural 
fact  to  prehistoric  cataclyism,  is  related  by  Major  Mac 


Murray  in  connection  with  the  explanation  of  the  cosmos  by 
Kotaiquan,  son  of  the  old  Yakima  chief,  Kamaiahkin. 
Referring  to  the  time,  ages  ago,  when  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth  were  not  living  in  brotherly  peace,  Kotaiquan  said: 
"There  was  quarreling  among  the  people,  and  the  earth- 
mother  was  angry.  The  mountains  that  overhung  the  river  at 
the  Cascades  were  thrown  down  and  damned  the  stream  and 
destroyed  the  forests  and  the  whole  tribes,  and  buried  them 
under  the  rocks."  The  army  officer's  comment  follows: 

The  Cascade  Range,  where  it  crosses  the  Columbia 
river,  exhibits  enormous  crossections  of  lava,  and  at  its 
base  are  petrified  trunks  of  trees,  which  have  been 
covered  and  hidden  from  view  except  where  the  wash  of 
the  mighty  stream  has  exposed  them. 

Indians  have  told  me  of  their  own  knowledge  that,  buried 
deep,  under  these  outpours  of  basalt  or  volcanic  tufa,  are 
bones  of  animals  of  "the  Siah,"  or  long  ago. 

Traditions  of  the  great  landslide  at  the  Cascades  are 
many,  but  vary  little  in  form.  According  to  one  account, 
the  mountains  tops  fell  together  and  formed  a  kind  of  arch, 
under  which  the  water  flowed  until  the  overhanging  rocks 
fell  into  the  stream  and  made  a  gorge.  As  the  rock  is 
columnar  basalt,  very  friable  and  easily  disintegrated, 
that  was  not  impossible;  and  the  landscape  suggests  some 
such  giant  avalanche,  the  submerged  trees  are  plainly 
visible  in  this  locality. 

The  foregoing  glimpses  of  Smohalla,  his  methods  and 
his  teachings  have  been  included  here,  not  with  the  purpose 
of  presenting  a  study  of  the  principles  of  the  cult,  but  with 
a  view  to  pointing  out  briefly  the  attractions  which  it  pre 
sented  to  the  Indian  mind  in  spite  of  its  queer  irregu 
larities  and  nonsequiturs.  It  also  serves  to  illustrate  that 
the  Indian  mind  —at  least  that  of  one  Indian  —grew  in 
thought  and  works  as  he  grew  in  years.  Starting  with  the 
simple  message  of  an  Indian  "Redeemer,"  Smohalla  was 
so  unimportant  in  personality  as  to  have  attracted  no 
attention  as  an  individual.  The  nearest  reference  to  any 
such  a  personality  made  in  the  records  of  1858  was  that 
of  George  Gibbs,  the  geologist  and  ethnologist  of  the 
exploring  party  of  Governor  Stevens,  and  Mr.  Gibbs 
allusion  is  impersonal  and  only  by  the  most  liberal  in 
terpretation  can  be  construed  as  a  reference  to  Smohalla. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  few  Indians  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  who  follow  the  teachings  and  practices  of  Smo 
halla.  The  nearest  approach  to  a  survival  of  the  cult  is  to 
be  found  among  the  so  called  Shakers  of  Mud  Bay  an  arm 
of  Puget  Sound.  Kataiaquan  at  one  time  held  together  a 
congregation  of  several  hundred  in  his  meeting  house  at 
Union  Gay  in  the  Yakima  valley,  but  Smohalla  himself  was 
the  essence  of  Smohallism,  and  with  the  going  down  of  his 
sun  his  cult  paled  away.  He  snatched  a  bit  from  mysti 
cism,  took  something  from  tradition's  story  of  his  world, 
adapted  scenes  and  forms  from  his  contemporaries  of 
another  race,  interwove  something  of  his  own  charla- 
nism  and  thus  created  a  drama  which  was  exceedingly 
attractive  to  the  Indians  of  his  day  and  generation.  Today 
its  conception  seems  farcial;  in  its  period  it  was  realism. 


FORMS  AND  CEREMONIES 


109 


26 


Warring  Nez  Perces 


General  Oliver  0.  Howard,  on  the  18th  day  of  April,  1877, 
stepped  from  the  gangplank  of  the  little  Columbia  River 
steamer  Tenino  to  the  seldom  used  dock  atWalula,  once  the 
site  of  the  old  Hudson  Bay  Company's  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and 
greeted  by  a  motley  crowd  of  the  curious  who  had  gathered 
to  see  the  commanding  officer  of  the  United  States  troops  in 
the  Department  of  the  Columbia.  But  some  had  business  of  a 
serious  character  with  the  general.  One  of  these  was  an  In 
dian  messenger.  The  dispatch  that  he  brought  was  conveyed 
in  these  words, 
"Smohalla  wants  to  have  talk  with  General  Howard." 


General  Oliver  0.  Howard 

The  general  was  avowedly  on  his  way  to  Fort  Lapwai,  Ida 
ho,  to  do  what  'he  could  to  stem  the  rising  tide  of  trouble 
which  portended  war  with  certain  Nez  Perces.  The  message 
could  not  be  ignored.  Immediatley  the  officer's  mind  conjured 
up  all  that  he  had  learned  of  this  Indian's  influence,  and  he 
was  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  event  of  war.  The  sen 
der  of  the  message  was  Smohalla.  "His  followers  have  been 
embraced  within  a  score  of  tribes  and  his  deleterious  influ 
ence  has  been  saldly  productive  of  suffering"  wrote  the  gen 
eral;  to  which  estimate  he  added  this  pen  picture  of  the  In 
dian.  "He  is  a  large  headed,  hump-shouldered,  odd  little 
wizard  of  an  Indian,  and  exhibits  a  strange  mixture  of  timid 
ity  and  daring,  of  superstition  and  intelligence. 

The  commander,  in  reality  on  the  eve  of  a  famous  cam 
paign,  though  he  did  not  at  the  time  know  it  to  be  a  fact,  re 
plied  to  Smohalla' s  courier,  "General  Howard  has  no  com 
munication  for  him  from  Washington.  He  must  obey  his  In 
dian  agent  and  go  upon  some  reservation.  I  will  meet  him  on 
my  return  on  the  24th  of  April. 


In  order  to  comprehend  the  causes  of  the  Nez  Perce  out 
break  of  1877  one  must  go  back  farther  than  1847.  That  was 
the  year  of  the  Whitman  massacre,  the  starting  point  of  the 
Cayuse  war.  But  beyond  that  lay  the  day  when  a  Cayuse  moth 
er  gave  birth  to  him  now  known  in  history  as  Chief  Toseph, 
considered  by  many  as  the  most  resourceful  general  officer 
ever  produced  from  among  the  American  Indians. 

There  have  been  two  Nez  Perce  chiefs  who  bore  the  name 
of  Joseph.  Both  sprang  from  the  sturdiest,  rangiest,  rugged- 
est  portion  of  the  tribe.  The  old  man  came  of  the  wild  ele 
ment,  that  which  lived  along  the  canyon-broken  country  far 
brethern  who  treated  with  the  white  man,  where  they  nour 
ished  all  the  elemental  traditions  of  the  native  and  followed 
the  precepts  of  the  untrammeled. 

Old  Joseph  had  been  of  enough  moment  to  be  mentioned  as 
a  factor  in  the  general  tribal  matters,  but  for  many  years 
the  wild  Nez  Perces  had  been  further  and  further  drawing 
aloof  from  their  brethern  who  counseled  making  treaties  with 
the  whites.  Through  the  efforts  of  Missionary  Spaulding  in 
1836  Old  Joseph  and  his  band  were  induced  to  settle  on  a 
small  farm  near  the  mission  school  at  Lapwai.  Neither  he, 
nor  his  Cayuse  wife,  nor  his  band  took  kindly  to  mission  life. 
They  had  little  in  common  with  the  lower  Nez  Perce,  but  it 
is  said  that  young  Joseph  and  his  brother  Ollicut  received 
some  teaching  from  Mrs.  Spaulding.  The  massacre  of  the 
Whitman  party  caused  the  Spauldings  to  leave  Lapwai  and  the 
mission. 

Then  Chief  Big  Thunder,  turning  to  Old  Joseph,  pointed 
southward  toward  the  canyons  of  the  Snake  and  said: 

"This  is  not  your  country.  Gobacktolmnaha  and  Wallowa 
where  you  belong." 

Soured  and  ugly,  old  Joseph's  band  moved  away  from  Lapwai 
to  resume  all  the  wild  superstitions  of  its  old  life,  to  acquire 
a  distorted  vision  of  the  white  influence  and  to  regard  their 
northern  brethern  with  distrust  and  hatred.  Old  Joseph, 
though  a  signer  of  the  Stevens  treaty  in  1855,  gave  this  ad 
vice  to  his  friends.  Raise  ponies,  eat  things  that  grown  of 
themselves,  and  go  and  come  as  you  please."  Young  Joseph 
inherited  the  quiet  obstinacy  of  his  father.  In  his  nature  was 
also  the  treachery  and  slyness  of  the  Cayuse  mother,  doubt 
less  nurtured  by  her  with  a  certain  amount  of  vindictiveness 
born  of  fate  of  relatives  slain  in  the  Cayuse  war.  Joseph's 
face  was  somber.  He  seldom  smiled.  It  has  been  said  of  him 
that  the  cicatrices  on  his  soul  constituted  its  chief  component 
down  to  the  very  last. 

In  1863  a  treaty  was  made  which  excluded  the  Wallawa 
valley  from  occupation  by  the  natives.  Thenceforth  the  Nez 


111 


Young  Chief  Joseph 

Perces  were  as  two  tribes  differing  from  each  other  to  the 
extent  of  hostility  of  the  non-treaty  chiefs,  Looking  Glass 
along  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Lapwai.  It  was  but  natural 
that  there  should  be  a  bond  of  friendship  between  the  non- 
treaty  portions  of  the  tribe,  and  among  the  leaders  with  Jo 
seph  were  White  Bird,  who  has  given  his  name  to  a  river  and 
a  battlefield  in  the  mountain  country  of  the  Salmon  river, 
and  Too-hul-hul-sote. 

Indian  agents  made  no  progress  toward  a  settlement  of  the 
differences  between  the  government  and  the  non-treaty 
elements.  A  treaty  commission  almost  got  the  consent  of  Jo 
seph  in  the  fall  of  1876  to  go  on  a  reservation.  An  absolute 
and  independent  sovereignty  of  their  own  was  demanded  by 
Joseph  and  his  fellows,  at  every  argument  of  the  com 
missioners.  When  the  treaty  commission  failed,  the  next 
stop  was  forcible  driving  upon  the  reservation  by  the 
military;  yet  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  bring  about  some 
peaceable  solution  of  the  differences,  General  Howard 
journeyed  for  Portland  to  meet  Joseph. 

Joseph  at  first  avoided  meeting  Howard,  and  sent  Ollicut 
to  the  parley.  Nothing  was  accomplished  and  another  meeting 
was  arranged  for  twelve  days  later,  when  Joseph  was  to 
appear  in  person  and  with  authority  Howard  used  a  part  of 
the  interim  in  a  talk  with  Smohalla.  It  was  without  result, 
the  band  using  the  same  argument  against  making  treaties 
as  were  used  by  the  non-treaty  Nez  Perces.  Howard  describes 
Smohalla's  position  as  "the  leader  of  the  spiritists  among 
the  Indians"  and  had  recorded  that  the  conference  served  to 
keep  Smohalla's  band  from  joining  the  Nez  Perce  renegades. 

But  Howard  was  not  through  with  the  results  of  the 
teachings  of  the  peculiar  prophet  of  Pina.  In  Nez  Perce  sub- 
chief,  Too-Hul-Hul-sote,  he  was  to  meet  a  character  who  was 
Smohalla's  equal  in  his  tenacious  hold  on  the  principle  that 


the  earth  was  the  mother  of  the  Indian.  A  certain  amount  of 
the  ceremonialism  of  the  cult  hadbeen  introduced  among  the 
non-treaty  Nez  Perce  and  some  of  the  crude  formalities  were 
practised  before  the  eyes  of  Howard  on  the  3rd  of  May  as  he 
awaited  his  conference  with  Joseph  and  some  fifty  braves  of 
the  recalcitrant.  Howard  thus  describes  the  ceremonial 
approach  to  the  council  place  at  Fort  Lapwai: 

These  picturesque  people  after  keeping  us  waiting  long 
enough  for  effect,  came  in  sight  from  up  the  valley  from 
the  direction  of  their  temporary  camp,  just  above  the 
company  garden.  They  drew  near  to  the  hollow  square  of 
the  post  and  in  front  of  the  small  company  to  be  inter- 
viewd.  Then  they  struck  up  their  song.  They  were  not 
armed,  except  with  a  few  tomahawk  pipes,  that  could  be 
smoked  with  the  peaceful  tobacco,  or  penetrate  the  skull 
of  an  enemy,  at  the  will  of  the  holder.  Yet  somehow  this 
wild  sound  produced  a  strange  effect.  It  made  one  feel 
glad  that  there  were  but  fifty  of  them,  not  five  hundred. 
It  was  shrill  and  searching;  sad,  like  a  wail,  yet  defiant  in 
its  close.  Our  ladies,  thinking  it  was  a  war  song,  asked 
with  some  show  of  trepidation,  "do  you  think  Joseph  means 
to  fight?" 

The  Indians  swept  around  outside  the  fence  and  made  the 
entire  circuit,  still  keeping  up  the  song  as  they  rode.  The 
building  broke  the  refrain  into  irregular  babbling  of  sound 
until  the  ceremony  was  completed. 


Rev.  Joseph  M.  Cataldo,  S.J. 

The  formal  part  of  the  council  between  the  general  and  the 
Indians  was  opened  by  a  prayer  by  Father  Cataldo  in  Nez 
Perce,  and  then  Howard  informed  Joseph  that  he  had  come 
hear  what  the  Indians  would  say.  To  this  Joseph  repliec 

"Another  band  of  Indians,  White  Bird's,  from  the  Salmor 
river  country,  are  coming.  They  are  already  in  the  Craii 
mountains.  They  will  be  here  tomorrow.  You  must  not  be  in 
a  hurry  to  go  till  all  can  get  in  to  have  a  talk." 

Howard  replied  with  firmness  that  the  government  hac 
determined  its  course  —  the  Indians  must  go  on  a  reser 
vation.  He  told  Joseph  that  if  he  decided  instantly  he  coulc 


112 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE   INLAND   EMPIRE 


have  the  pick  of  the  land  before  White  Bird  arrived.  And  the 
council  was  postponed  for  one  day,  but  not  until  Too-hul-hul- 
sote,  leader  of  the  Smohallities,  called  Dreamers  at  the  time, 
had  admonished  the  interpreter;  "On  account  of  coming 
generations,  the  children  and  the  children's  children,  you 
must  interpret  correctly." 

White  Bird  marched  into  the  valley  on  the  morning  of  the 
4th  of  May,  with  a  small  part  of  his  band,  reporting  the 
remainder  as  bringing  up  the  ponies.  On  reaching  the  ground, 
there  was  the  same  procession  around  the  garrison  and  the 
same  wierd  song,  "only  louder  and  stronger  and  perhaps 
more  defiant,"  to  quote  from  Howard. 

Joseph  introduced  White  Bird,  and  retired  to  alow  bench, 
calm  and  of  imperious  mien.  Evidently  he  was  not  to  commit 
himself.  White  Bird  made  no  speech,  but  retired  near  to  Jo 
seph  and  sat  down,  his  features  partially  hidden  by  a  huge 
ceremonial  hat  from  which  an  eagle  feather  hung  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  more  completely  obstruct  a  view  of  his 
countenance  Apparently,  neither  of  these  chiefs  we  re  "to  be 
sent  in*'  to  use  a  modern  football  term. 

Too-hul-hul-sote  had  been  selected  for  his  task.  His  opening 
remarks  were  brief: 

"There  are  always  two  parties  to  a  dispute.  The  one  that 
is  right  will  come  out  ahead." 

There  was  nothing  of  conciliation  in  tone  or  manner. 
Howard  observed  that  all  children  of  a  common  government 
must  obey  it. 

The  Indian  rejoined  with  "I  have  heard  about  a  bargain,  a 
trade  between  some  of  these  Nez  Perces  and  the  white  man 
concerning  their  land;  but  I  belong  to  the  land  out  of  which 
I  came.  The  earth  is  my  mother." 

The  general  placidly  stated  the  fact  to  be  that  the  majority 
of  the  Nez  Perce  tribe  had  agreed  to  the  treaty  and  the 
minority  must  abide  by  the  vote. 

Surly  old  Too-hul-hul-sote  snapped  out  "  Children  do  not 
think  for  themselves.  Grown  men  do  think  for  themselves. 
The  government  in  Washington  cannot  (shall  not)  think  for 
us." 

Here  were  the  pleadings  in  the  case.  The  issues  were 
joined.  When  Joseph  asked  for  an  adjournment,  Howard  acqui 
esced  and  smilingly  urged  him  and  White  Bird  to  take  until 
the  9th  to  make  up  their  minds  and  talk  with  their  people. 
Howard  shook  hands  cordially  with  the  chief  and  smiled  them 
out  of  the  council  chambers.  By  the  9th  he  hoped  that  three 
cavalry  companies  would  arrive. 

When  the  9th  came,  the  Indians  knew  of  the  movement  of 
the  troops.  Too-hul-hul-sote  was  again  the  speaker.  He  wear 
ied  Howard  with  a  repetition  of  the  mothership  of  the  earth. 
He  railed  against  the  violence  which  would  tear  the  Indian 
from  his  inheritance.  Howard  requested  him  to  come  to  the 
point.  With  fire  in  his  voice  and  manner,  the  old  man  hurled 
back: 

"What  the  treaty  Indians  talk  about  was  born  of  today.  It 
is  not  true  law  at  all.  You  white  people  get  together,  measure 
the  earth  and  then  divide  it,  I  want  you  to  talk  directly  what 
you  mean!" 

A  moment  later  he  challenged:  "What  person  pretends  to 
divide  the  land  and  put  me  on  it?" 

Howard  perceived  that  this  must  be  answered  peremp 
torily,  or  prestige  would  be  lost.  He  replied:  "I  am  the  man 


PU-PU-MOX-MOX,  OR 

YELLOW  SERPENT 
Head  Chief  of  the  Walla  Wallas 

-  I  stand  here  for  the  President,  and  there  is  no  spirit,  good 
or  bad  that  will  hinder  me." 

Joseph's  countenace  betrayed  no  emotion.  Looking  Glass 
stirred  restively.  White  Bird,  from  behind  his  eagle's 
feather  said,  "If  I  had  been  taught  from  early  life  to  be  gov 
erned  by  the  white  men,  I  would  be  governed  by  the  white 
man;  the  earth  rules  me." 

Howard  then  put  it  squarely  to  Too-hul-hul-sote:  "Do  you 
or  do  you  not  propose  to  comply  with  the  orders  of  the  gov 
ernment?" 

"The  Indians  may  do  what  they  like,  but  I  am  not  going  on 
the  reservation."  was  the  reply. 

The  general  saw  that  there  could  be  no  progress  made  so 
long  as  the  tongue  of  Too-hul-hul-sote  was  unbridled. 

Conciliatmgly  he  turned  to  the  others  and  asked,  "Will  Jo 
seph  and  White  Bird  and  Looking  Glass  go  with  me  to  look 
after  their  land.  The  old  man  shall  not  go.  He  must  stay  with 
Colonel  Perry." 

It  was  Howard' sway  of  announcing  that  the  old  man  was  un 
der  arrest.  It  was  a  crucial  point,  all  but  spoiled  because  the 
expected  messenger  was  not  at  hand  to  seize  the  Indian. 

Too-hul-hul-sote  turned  angrily  and  exclaimed:  "Do  you 
want  to  scare  me  with  reference  to  my  body?" 

In  a  tense  silence  the  general  and  the  colonel  in  person  led 
the  Indian  from  the  council  tent.  The  immediate  effect  of  this 
coup  was  all  that  Howard  could  desire.  For  a  week  there  was 
peace  and  laughter,  and  Indian  chief  and  American  people 
rode  over  the  land,  and  then  the  General  left  for  Portland, 
satisfied  that  peace  had  been  accomplished,  and  at  the  ear 
nest  request  of  White  Bird  and  Looking  Glass  had  ordered 
Too-hnl-hul-sote  released. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  14th one  of  the  Salmon  River 
Indians,  White  Bird's  band,  asked  L.P.  Brown  of  Mount, 
Idaho,  some  miles  south  of  Fort  Lapwai  when  General 
Howard  was  expected  back.  When  later  in  the  same  day 
another  Indian  offered  $2.50  for  a  can  of  gunpowder,  the  re 
sidents  of  the  little  settlement  became  alarmed.  They  knew 
that  sixty  lodges  were  encamped  eight  miles  away,  at  the 
head  of  Rocky  Canyon.  That  night  a  messenger  started  from 
Mount  Hope  for  mil  tary  relief.  He  was  driven  back  by  the 
Indians.  That  night  also,  the  people  of  Cottonwood,  a  little 


WARRING  NEZ  PERCES 


113 


settlement  not  far  from  Mount  Idaho  attempted  to  go  to  the  they  saw  the  defenseless  settlers  scattered  among  the  hills 

latter  place,  but  were  driven  back,  numbers  killed  and  in  the  wild,  canyon  country  about  the  Salmon  river.  Those 

wounded.  along  the  rocky  aisles  of  Lo  Lo  pass,  rattled  along  the 

The  Nez  Perce  war  was  on.  Howard's  attempt  to  placate  backbone  of  the  continent  from  the  Bitter  Root  valley  to 

the  implacable  Indians  had  been  unavailing.  The  lust  for  Yellowstone  lake,  turned  northward  across  the  Missouri 

slaughter  which  had  slumbered  in  their  veins  in  the  imme-  river  and  are  buried  in  the  Bearpaw  Mountains  of  Montana 

diate  presence  of  the  military  authorites  coursed  rapidly  as  on  October  5th. 


114  INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


27 


A  Hegira  Militant 


At  the  outset,  the  Nez  Perce  war  presented  no  formidable 
aspect  to  the  soldiery.  So  General  Howard  considered  the 
situation.  He  heard  of  the  murders  and  then  sent  this  dis 
patch  to  division  headquarters:  "Troops  are  being  brought 
forward  as  fast  as  possible.  Give  me  authority  for  twenty 
scouts.  Think  we  will  make  short  work  of  it." 

Among  the  troops  that  were  hurried  from  the  nearest  posts 
were  officers  and  men  who  had  seen  hard  service  in  the  Civil 
war.  There  were  veterans  of  the  Modoc  war.  But  they  were  to 
fight  resolute  men  of  red  skin,  fight  them  in  their  habitats, 
amid  surroundings  admirably  adapted  to  their  peculiar  style 
of  campaigning.  The  Indians  were  few  in  number  Howard  had 
estimated  them  at  about  seven  hundred,  including  old  men, 
women  and  children.  Surely  no  terrible  problem  confronted 
the  West  Point  officers  and  the  veterans  of  other  wars. 

In  such  light  was  an  inconsequential  uprising  once  upon  a 
time  along  the  Rhine;  yet  Arninius  sent  reeling  back  to  Rome 
the  trained  soldiers  of  his  day,  and  an  enperor  wailed, 
"Quintillius  Varus,  give  me  back  my  legions."  William  Tell 
and  a  handful  of  resolute,  resourceful  fellows,  thouroughly 
familiar  with  the  crags  and  passes  of  the  Alps  long  hurled 
defiance  at  Austria.  Scottish  border  wars  are  replete  with 
the  story  of  the  difficulty  met  by  an  invading  force  upon  the 
native  crags,  glen  and  heaths  of  the  Scottish  chiefs.  In  Idaho 
and  Montana  were  the  Alps,  the  ambuscades  and  the  High 
land  glen  in  which  a  modern  Quintilius  Varus  might  lose  his 
legions.  But  a  more  cautious  man  than  Varus  directed  the 
trained  soldiery  against  Joseph's  little  band. 

The  question  is  yet  mooted  whether  Joseph  had  a  hand  in 
the  murders  near  Grangeville.  He  has  been  acquitted  of  par 
ticipating  in  the  first  murders.  The  red  handed  rode  into  his 
camp  swinging  scalps,  showing  horses,  rifles  and  clothing. 
"Come!"  is  the  explanation.  "Why  remain  here  talking.  The 
war  has  begun.  The  white  men  will  never  believe  you  if  you 
ask  for  peace.  Everybody  get  ready  to  fight!" 

The  die  is  cast.  Joseph's  primitive  nature  was  too  loyal 
to  race  standards  to  permit  him  to  side  with  the  common 
enemy  or  to  remain  inactive.  His  sympathies  were  with  for 
cible  resistance.  He  gathered  his  blanket  about  him,  placed 
an  eagle  plume  in  his  glistining  locks  and  went  over,  grandly 
and  solemnly.  Thereby  he  made  for  himself  a  niche  in  his 
tory  among  leaders  of  forlorn  racial  hopes. 

Instinctively  he  grasped  the  situation.  A  few  days  of  fierce 
fighting  before  large  reinforcements  could  arrive,  then  re 
treat.  He  would  strike  viciously,  as  the  eagle  protecting  the 
occupants  of  his  aerie.  What  his  talons  would  tear  from  the 


J 


Sitting  Bull 

battle  field  he  would  distribute  with  dovelike  tenderness  to 
his  people  in  preparing  them  for  the  long,  tedious,  awful 
flight  away  from  their  old  home  haunts.  He  looked  east  across 
the  ridge  of  the  continent.  Thither  had  escaped  Kamiahkin 
and  Til-co-ax  and  their  little  band  of  renegades.  In  that  coun 
try  of  the  mountains  had  been  the  famous  hunting  grounds. 
There  was  the  "buffalo  illahee".  Every  winding  canyon  and 
by-path,  every  obstructing  mountain  or  stream,  every  open 
plain  and  every  tangled  forest  was  familiar  ground.  There 
too,  was  that  other  fierce  personification  of  Indian  protest 
against  the  army,  Sitting  Bull,  now  with  his  friends  and  fel 
lows  his  lares  and  penates,  across  the  international  pale, 
unpunished  for  the  Custer  massacre  of  the  previous  year. 
None  had  more  wiry  ponies  than  the  mountain  Nez  Perces. 
None  knew  better  how  to  push  them  to  the  last  gasp  among 
the  rocks  and  over  fallen  timber.  The  loss  of  half  or  more 
of  the  animals  meant  nothing  so  long  as  the  old  men  and  the 
women  and  children,  rearguarded  by  elusive  bidettes 


115 


and  the  most  mobile  guerillas  in  the  world,  were  transported 
to  the  hoped  for  country. 

Sitting  in  a  well  chosen  camp  in  the  bottom  of  White  Bird 
canyon,  Joseph,  his  brother  Ollicut,  White  Bird  and  Too-hul- 
hul-sote,  awaited  the  coming  of  the  avengers.  Looking  Glass 
had  not  yet  gone  over.  Weary  with  two  nights  and  one  day  of 
forced  marching  from  Fort  Lapwai,  Captain  Perry  and  his 
cavalrymen  reached  the  top  of  the  defile  leading  down  into 
the  valley  of  White  Bird  creek. 

"No,  White  Bird,  there  is  no  need  yet  to  cross  over  the 
Salmon.  They  will  attack  now.  Their  are  too  new.  They  will 
scare  when  we  begin  to  shoot.  Take  your  men  and  turn  the 
Bostons  around  that  butte.  I  will  get  over  there  behind  those 
rocks  and  wait.  Mox-Mox  and  the  women  must  take  care  of 
the  horses  and  let  us  have  some  if  yours  are  shot  down.  Ol 
licut  must  be  with  me.  Take  down  the  lodges.  Let  every  man 
be  ready  to  start." 

With  these  words  Joseph  assumed  the  leadership.  Thence- 
after  he  towered  imperiously  and  by  force  of  will  and  by 
consummate  skill  above  his  associates. 

With  the  troops  yet  four  miles  away  in  the  dawn  of  early 
morning,  the  Indian  camp  melted  away  like  snow,  sunk  in 
visible  into  the  ground,  in  the  hollows  and  behind  the  buttes 
and  among  the  rocks. 

In  the  attack  it  was  as  Joseph  had  predicted.  The  soldiers' 
horses  became  unmanageable  at  the  noise  and  smoke  of  bat 
tle.  From  ravine  and  gulch  and  rock  belched  the  smoke  of 
the  red  men.  Captain  Perry's  bugler  movement  were  watched 
and  he  was  hot  at  the  first  fire.  Brave  men  could  not  join  in 
a  concerted  movement.  Up  the  flanks  of  White  Bird  canyon 
toiled  the  retreating  soldiers,  closely  pressed  by  the  pursuing 
Indians. 

"It  was  only  by  the  most  strenuous  efforts  of  myself  and 
Colonel  Parnell  in  organizing  a  party  of  22  men  that  a  single 
officer  or  man  reached  camp,"  wrote  Captain  Perry.  "The 
Indians  fought  us  to  within  four  miles  of  Mount  Idaho." 

Over  one  third  of  the  attacking  force  of  100  soldiers  enter 
ing  the  battle  were  killed  or  missing. 

The  eagle's  talons  had  struck,  and  that  night  in  the  Indian 
camp  pigeon's  milk  was  distributed,  in  the  form  of  clothing, 
rifles  and  ammunition, 

"Looking  Glass  will  come"  said  Joseph  to  White  Bird. 

It  is  not  to  the  purpose  of  these  studies  to  recite  in  detail 
the  military  steps  in  the  Nez  Perces  war.  The  facts  belong 
to  the  period  of  "since  the  war,"  and  there  are  many  yet 
living  who  recall  the  chiei  events. 

Joseph  was  a  master  of  feints.  Within  a  few  days  he  struck 
several  blows.  Lieutenant  Rains  and  ten  pieced  men  were 
cut  off  and  killed,  every  man.  A  volunteer  company  under 
Captain  Randall  had  been  stricken.  He  had  foiled  the  attempt 
to  place  Looking  Glass  under  arrest.  Not  once  in  the  week 
following  White  Bird  canyon  did  he  reveal  to  the  troops  his 
ultimate  plan.  But  he  was  going  to  strike  once  more,  and 
this  time  at  Howard  himself,  not  any  subordinate  command. 

The  clash  came  of  the  Clearwater  river— a  two  days 
fight.  Honors  were  even  at  the  close  of  the  first  day  and  the 
opposing  forces  slept  on  their  arms  within  ear-shot  of  each 
other.  This,  too,  after  Howard  had  received  reinforcements. 
On  the  second  day  Jackson's  cavalry  came  up,  a  charge  and 
Joseph's  camp  was  broken  up.  Then  came  the  long  chase.  It 
is  this  chase  and  retreat  which  is  the  most  wonderful  part  of 


the  Nez  Perce  war.  Joseph  turned  toward  the  Lolo  trail,  and 
Howard  knew  the  plan. 

Take  down  the  map  of  Idaho  and  Montana.  Joseph  is  part 
way  up  the  Clearwater  toward  Lolo  pass.  Howard,  with  his 
troops,  are  on  the  lower  Clearwater.  At Missoula is  General 
Gibbon.  At  an  improvised  fort  on  the  Lolo  river  is  Captain 
Rawn,  with  a  few  regular  soldiers  and  many  volunteers.  To 
the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  General  Sturgis  and 
General  Miles.  At  various  intervals,  dotted  all  over  the  area 
in  question  were  many  knots  of  brave  men,  skilled  in  wood 
craft,  unerring  with  the  rifle,  knowing  the  mountain  glens 
and  the  points  of  vantage.  It  would  seem  an  easy  matter  to 
catch  the  miscreant  redskin  in  his  small  horde. 

This  is  how  the  "untutored  savage"  ran  the  guantlet.  When 
Jospeh  approached  Rawn's  fort,  the  volunteers  deemed  it 
discreet  on  their  part  to  give  the  invaders  free  passage 
through  their  country  in  return  for  which  Joseph  ravaged  no 
farmsteads,  but  took  toll  for  his  larders  and  his  herds.  This 
permitted  him  to  swing  southward  up  the  Bitter  Root  in 
advance  of  Gibbon,  hurrying  from  Missoula  to  intercept  him. 
It  kept  Howard  in  the  rear,  no  nearer  than  when  the  chase 
first  began.  It  caused  Gibbon  to  chase  on  alone,  ultimately 
sending  back  word  to  Howard  for  cavalry  reinforcements 
before  he  would  overtake  the  fleeing  Indians. 

At  the  head  of  the  Bitter  Root  valley  is  the  continental 
divide — big,  grim!  The  pace  was  telling  on  the  pursuers.  Jo 
seph  knew  it.  His  ponies  had  left  little  natural  forage  for  the 
heavy  animals  of  the  cavalrymen.  Howard  records:  "The 
only  feed  consists  of  wild  dwarf  lupine  and  wire  grass. 
Several  mules  exhausted  and  some  packs  of  bacon  were  aban 
doned  by  the  way." 

The  troops  made  sixteen  miles  in  one  day.  Camp  routine 
generally  began  between  the  hours  of  three  and  four  in  the 
morning.  Breakfast  came  an  hour  later  and  the  start  of  the 
march  still  another  hour  later.  Ridge  after  ridge  in  the 
wildest  and  most  isolated  part  of  the  country,  chasm  and 
gorge,  acclivity  and  declivity,  jagged  rocks  and  rounded 
boulders,  timber  standing  and  timber  fallen  and  crisscrossed 
into  a  natural  abattus  and  cheval  de  frise,  confronted  the  sol 
diery.  At  every  tangled  point  lay  the  bodies  of  the  ponies 
pushed  to  the  death  by  Joseph's  men,  and  then  abandoned. 
Where  the  lithe  Indian  pony  was  doing  its  utmost,  nothing 
better  could  be  expected  from  the  cavalry  animal.  Says  an 
old  frontiers  man,  "No  living  man  kin  git  as  much  out  of  a 
boss  as  an  Injun  when  he's  put  to  it." 

Spies  told  Joseph  all  these  things  —  spies  who  mingled  as 
friendly  Indians  with  the  few  settlers  along  the  way;  and  then 
during  the  night  disappeared.  It  was  time  to  make  a  strike  at 
Gibbon,  thought  Joseph.  But  before  he  carried  out  his  design 
Gibbon  had  struck  him.  The  result  was  a  draw,  in  the  first 
instance,  but  the  Indians  evacuated  the  Big  Hole  as  Howard 
drew  near,  leaving  the  corpse  of  Looking  Glass  along  the 
waters  of  the  creek.  As  if  in  exchange  for  his  fellow  chief, 
Joseph  took  toll  of  the  army  by  three  officers  and  26  men 
dead.  It  was  here  that  Howard  caught  up  with  Gibbon. 

At  Camas  Meadows  Joseph  surprised  the  encampment  and 
made  off  with  many  mules  and  horses  belonging  to  the  mil 
itary.  Then  on  to  Henry  Lake  and  the  Yellowstone  mountains, 
striking  back  here,  rushing  forward  there.  From  the  National 
Park  Joseph  turned  abruptly  to  the  northwest,  avoided  a 
planned  attack  of  General  Sturgis,  crossed  the  Missouri  river 


116 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


and  entered  the  country  of  Bear  Paw  mountains,  but  had  also 
actually  dodged  General  Sturgis  whose  business  it  was  to 
head  him  off,  later  delivering  a  stinging  blow  to  Sturgis.  It 
was  after  this  skirmish  on  the  Stinking  Water  river,  that 
Miles  was  notified  of  the  situation  and  requested  to  help  in 
the  round  up. 

Look  back  now  to  the  main  events.  The  battle  of  the  Clear- 
water,  which  marks  the  commencement  of  Joseph's  mar 
velous  flight,  was  fought  on  the  llth  and  12th  of  July.  On  the 
llth  of  September  Joseph  fooled  Sturgis  and  escaped  the  trap 
set  for  him.  For  two  months,  then,  thisNez  Perce  chief  had 
run  along  the  ridge  of  the  continent,  dodging  and  eluding  the 
trained  soldiery  of  a  nation.  On  a  small  scale,  this  kind  of 
tragedy  is  enacted  frequently  in  the  settled  part  of  the 
country,  where  a  company  of  boys  attempt  to  catch  a  nimble 
squirrel  whose  pathway  is  the  jerky  course  of  the  topmost 
of  the  old  fashioned  "stake  and  rider"  fence  —  only  the 
squirred  never  turns  and  strikes  back  at  his  tormentors. 

The  condition  of  some  of  Howard's  command  may  best  be 
described  by  a  question  from  the  diary  of  one  of  Captain 
Jackson's  troop  of  the  First  cavalry:  "Sept.  2  —  Left  camp 
at  9  o'clock.  Horses  very  weak!" 

On  September  10th  another  record:  "Hard  work;  don't 
know  which  is  worse,  for  me  to  walk  or  for  my  trembling 
horse  to  carry  me." 

"Why  didn't  Sturgis  use  his  artillery  on  Joseph?'*  asked 
Howard  of  Lieutenant  Fletcher,  and  the  answer  was:  "The 
horses  were  so  weak  that  one  piece  never  got  up,  and  the 
other  only  succeeded  in  getting  in  one  shot." 

A  Lieutenant  once  in  a  burst  of  dispiritedness  blurted  out 
to  General  Howard  that  he  "wished  he  could  have  the  mili 
tary  committee  of  Congress  ride  played-out  horses  a  thou 
sand  miles." 

On  the  4th  of  October,  Miles  closed  with  Joseph,  captured 
the  greater  part  of  his  herd  of  ponies  and  drove  the  Indians 
to  seek  shelter  in  the  ravines  and  between  rocks.  That  night 
the  indomitable  Indians,  worn  by  a  harrying  march  of  one 
third  of  a  year's  time,  dug  rifle  pits  and  threw  up  emergency 
intrenchments.  By  the  march  of  the  army,  they  had  travelled 
more  than  thirteen  hundred  miles.  Their  own  course,  with 
deviations,  doublings  feints  and  the  like  make  the  actual  dis 
tance  covered  considerably  greater.  The  almost  unbroken 
trail  of  dead  animals  showed  how  they  accomplished  the  feat. 

It  was  the  tragedy  of  fate  that  Miles'  attack  on  Joseph's 
camp  took  place  when  he  was  within  fifty  miles  of  his  goal  - 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  Sitting  Bull's  cantonment.  At 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  of  October,  in  the 
midst  of  bitter  mountain  cold,  with  sufferings  of  his  ill  clad 


people  under  his  eyes,  Joseph  gave  in,  White  Bird  with  two 
wounded  squaws  and  a  party  of  about  twenty,  escaped  between 
the  pickets  and  vanished.  None  could  give  the  pathos  of  the 
situation  in  which  the  great  Chieftain  found  himself  and  his 
people  better  than  the  resourceful  leader  himself.  Standing 
erect,  dignified,  conscious  of  having  done  his  best  against 
terrible  odds,  in  surrendering  his  scepter,  he  spoke  as 
follows: 

"I  am  tired  of  fighting.  Our  chiefs  are  killed.  Looking 
Glass  is  dead.  Too-Hul-Hul-sote  is  dead.  The  old  men  are 
dead.  It  is  the  young  men  who  say  yes  or  no.  He  who  led 
the  young  men  is  dead.  It  is  cold,  and  we  have  no  blankets. 
The  little  children  are  freezing  to  death.  My  people,  some 
of  them,  run  away  to  the  hills,  and  have  no  blankets,  no 
food.  No  one  knows  where  they  are  —  perhaps  freezing  to 
death.  I  want  time  to  look  for  my  children,  and  see  how 
many  of  them  I  can  find.  Maybe  I  shall  find  them  among 
the  dead.  Hear  me,  my  chiefs,  I  am  tired!  My  heart  is 
sick  and  sad! 

From  where  the  sun  now  stands,  I  will  fight  no  more 
forever!" 

Joseph  claimed  that  his  surrender  was  conditioned  that 
he  should  go  back  to  Idaho  in  the  following  spring  and  become 
a  part  of  the  race  on  the  Nez  Perce  reservation.  General 
Sheridan  ordered  the  band  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  later 
to  Oklahoma.  In  ten  years  death  and  disease  had  reduced  the 
band  to  about  280  individuals,  which  was  the  number  that 
took  up  its  home  at  Nespelim,  near  the  Columbia  river,  on 
the  Colville  reservation  in  the  state  of  Washington.  Here  he 
died  in  1904,  in  outward  demeanor  every  inch  a  chieftain  of 
a  proud  race. 

There  was  this  about  Joseph  -  -  the  pledge  he  made  in  the 
Bear  Paw  mountains  of  Montana  was  never  broken,  and  those 
who  knew  best  say  that  having  given  his  word,  the  thought 
of  armed  resistance  never  again  entered  his  plans. 

The  last  glimpse  America  had  of  this  commanding  figure 
of  Indian  life  in  the  Pacific  Northwest,  was  at  the  St.  Louis 
exposition  in  1903,  where  he  appeared  in  the  doleful  char 
acter  of  an  exhibit.  In  this  appearance  he  breathed  nothing 
of  that  tenacity  and  fondness  for  his  beautiful  Wallowa  val 
ley.  Almost  invisible  was  the  lofty  imperiousness  with  which, 
on  behalf  of  a  mere  handful  of  his  race,  he  accepted  the  gage 
of  a  powerful  nation.  Forgot,  that  masterly  military  genius 
which  for  four  long  months  over  mountain  trail  devoted 
itself  to  stinging  the  traditional  enemy  and  to  soothing  his 
people. 


A  HEGIRA  MILITANT 


117 


28 


Sergeant  Sutherland's  Ride 


It  was  inevitable  that  the  Nez  Perce  war  should  have  its 
quota  of  heroic  figures.  Flint  was  striking  flint.  Avenging 
soldiery  was  pitted  against  sullen  Indian  pugnacity  directed 
by  a  leader  of  consummate  resources,  and  the  contest  took 
place  in  an  arena  of  vast  proportions,  now  regarded  as  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  wonderlands.  In  White  Bird  canyon  and 
on  the  Clearwater  in  Idaho,  Howard's  soldiers  proved  their 
mettle,  and  in  proving  it  made  record  of  brave  men  killed 
and  wounded.  Gibbon's  men,  on  the  western  edges  of  Montana, 
left  graves  of  intrepid  officers  and  gallant  men  in  and  about 
the  Big  Hole,  where  the  body  of  Looking  Glass  lies  moldering 
under  the  bank  of  a  swift  mountain  stream.  And  there  was  not 
lacking  among  the  men  of  Miles  in  that  last  benumbing 
struggle  in  the  Bearpaw  mountains  the  qualities  for  offensive 
fighting  which  have  ever  attended  the  guerdons  of  America's 
trained  soldiery.  The  exhilirating  shock  of  conflict  always 
exalts  strife,  and  men  exult. 

In  a  farmhouse  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Spokane 
County,  Washington,  has  been  perserved  a  little  note  book 
which  was  carried  in  a  breast  pocket  through  all  those 
weary  days  of  1877  over  the  toilsome  miles  which  intervened 
between  Fort  Klamath,  Oregon  and  Fort  Ellis,  Montana.  It 
was  carried  by  one  of  Captain  Jackson's  troopers  who  com 
posed  a  part  of  Major  Sanford's  cavalry  division  of  Howard's 
fighting  force.  The  little  book  is  filled  with  brief,  pointed 
sentences,  telling  meagerly  of  some  events,  under  date. 
There  is  frequent  reference  to  "poor  feed  for  horses." 
There  is  one  reading  "Horses  very  weak  —  think  Gen. 
giving  up  hope  of  overtaking  Inds." 

But  there  is  one  brief  note,  very  brief,  which  encompasses 
a  long  drawn-out  persistent  personal  heroism  which  had 
rarely  been  paralleled  for  its  rugged  adherence  to  the  line 
of  duty  under  depressing  circumstances.  That  note  in  its 
entirety  is: 

"Aug.  6 Hot  Springs,  Geoghegan  started." 

Five  words  and  an  Arabic  numeral;  yet  in  the  memory  of 
William  Connolly,  erstwhile  sergeant  in  Troop  B,  First 
United  States  cavalry,  and  corroborated  by  General  Howard 
in  his  recollections  of  the  Joseph  campaign,  those  few  words 
contained  a  recital  of  the  most  dramatic  epsiode  of  a  spec 
tacular  war. 

When  Howard  settled  down  in  camp  at  some  warm  springs 
near  Lolo  pass  in  the  Bitter  Roots,  his  men  had  their  first 
comfortable  rest  and  his  horses  and  mules  their  first  real 
fill  of  grass  since  leaving  the  lower  streams  of  the  Clear- 
water  nearly  a  month  earlier.  In  the  gorges  and  chasms 
which  marked  the  ascent  of  the  western  slopes  of  the  Bitter 


Root  range,  the  Indian  ponies  had  left  not  a  vestige  of  horse 
forage  except  the  bark  of  the  trees  and  the  shrubs. 

Emerged  at  last  into  one  of  the  side  reaches  of  the  Bitter 
Root  valley,  the  general,  his  men  and  his  beasts  found  an 
oasis.  The  prospect  had  given  but  its  first  dash  of  en 
couragement,  when  Howard  received  word  that  Cap  tain  Rawn 
had  left  Joseph  and  let  him  go  by  his  fortified  position,  that 
the  settlers  of  the  Montana  valley  had  given  the  Nez  Perces 
horses  and  food,  thus  passing  them  on  out  of  the  immediate 
vicinity  that  Gibbon  had  passed  by  from  Missoula  a  few  days 
earlier  with  only  200  men.  And  Gibbon  could  not  accomplish 
much,  volunteered  those  selfsame  settlers,  who  now  felt 
outside  the  danger  zone.  In  one  of  those  grim  moments  of  the 
grim  pursuit  of  the  great  red  general,  a  request  came  from 
Gibbon  to  Howard  for  a  hundred  cavalry  by  forced  marches 
to  his  assistance. 

"Major  Sanlord  has  been  complaining  for  days  of  the  poor 
condition  of  his  horses."  ventured  the  adjutant. 

"I  know,"  sighed  the  weary,  one-armed  veteran,  "but  if 
we  can't  send  Gibbon  the  men,  we  can  send  him  word  that 
our  whole  cavalry  column  will  hurry  forward,  I  must  do  this 
much.  Send  me  a  good  man,  well  mounted,  at  nightfall." 

After  mess,  when  night  had  settled  down  over  the  rocky 
crags  which  compose  the  Lolo  landscape,  a  sergeant  saluted 
the  general,  and  said,  "Sergeant  Sutherland,  sir,  detailed 
with  the  compliments  of  Captain  Jackson  to  your  service." 

The  general  looked  up  to  see  what  manner  of  man  had  been 
sent  to  him  for  hazardous  work.  Sergeant  Oliver  Sutherland 
was  38  years  old,  stocky  and  erect.  He  was  not  dressed  for 
parade.  His  chevrons  were  soiled.  His  blouse  was  wrinkled. 
That  rent  in  his  trousers  was  made  by  the  caulk  of  his  horse 
while  the  pair  swam  the  turbid  waters  of  the  river  at  Kakuiak 
on  the  27th  day  of  July.  Surely  Sergeant  Sutherland  showed 
service  wear. 

"This  is  extraordinary  duty,"  began  the  general. 

"Yes  Sir." 

"Previous  service,  I  suppose?" 

"In  recent  years  at  Klamath,  Tule  Lake  and  Lost  River 
in  the  lava  country,  Sir." 

"Modoc  war"  observed  the  general,  and  then,  "I  want  a 
message  delivered  to  General  Gibbon.  He's  somewhere  in 
the  country  of  the  Big  Hole,  ninety  miles  away.  An  Indian  will 
guide  you.  Tell  General  Gibbon  that  General  Howard  is 
coming  on  as  fast  as  possible  by  forced  marches  with  200 
cavalrymen  to  give  him  assistance." 

When  the  soldier  had  left  the  tent,  the  general  mused, 
"Conceive  of  a  brave  man  starting  out  at  night,  in  this  wild 


119 


country,  with  only  an  Indian  guide."  Later  wrote  Howard: 
"The  way  was  rugged,  the  night  was  dark,  the  distance  was 
great,  and  he  a  stranger;  but  he  was  resolute  and  a  soldier." 

That  night  on  the  picket  line  stood  Sergeant  Sutherland 
and  the  Indian.  With  them  was  Sergeant  Connolly,  messmate 
and  bunky  of  the  courier.  A  generous  half  of  the  remaining 
plug  of  tobacco  went  to  the  departing  one;  also  the  remains 
of  a  flask  obtained  in  a  manner  experience  to  soldiers.  A 
moment,  and  then  the  black  forest  swallowed  the  white  sol 
dier  and  his  red  companion. 

"Don't  like  Flatheads  in  a  pinch  like  this,"  muttered 
Connolly  as  he  stumbled  across  the  camp  to  his  blankets, 
"he  won't  stick  with  Oliver  when  they  get  near  the  Nez 
Perce." 

All  that  night  the  sergeant  and  the  Indian  pursued  the 
famous  Lolo  trail  through  the  rugged  passes  which  line  the 
divide  between  Idaho  and  Montana.  The  Indian  knew  the 
country  they  were  to  traverse  only  in  a  general  way.  He 
cared  little  for  the  trail.  With  Sutherland  it  was  different. 
He  had  to  save  his  horse.  He  would  figure  whether  it  was 
more  exhausting  to  ride  around  a  fallen  forest  king,  or  force 
the  animal  to  stride  over  it.  But  in  dale  and  glade  and 
mountain  glen  he  plodded  on,  sometimes  in  the  dense 
darkness  of  the  deep  forest,  again  in  the  more  open  woods 
where  he  could  catch  glints  of  the  stars  through  the  over 
hanging  evergreen  fronds. 

Of  a  sudden,  they  came  upon  the  spur  of  a  mountain  which 
seemed  to  block  the  way.  By  dismounting  and  slowly  leading 
their  animals,  a  way  was  successfully  negotiated  over  loose 
rocks  and  along  the  precipitous  sides.  When  dawn  came 
glimpses  were  had  of  the  broader  Lolo  valley,  opening  away 
toward  the  east.  Cultivated  fields  were  in  evidence,  but  not 
a  sign  of  human  habitant,  not  a  dog  to  howl  defiance  to  the 
coyotes  feeding  off  the  carcasses  of  Joseph's  abandoned 
ponies. 

Sergeant  Connolly  was  right.  Before  the  day  closed,  the 
Flathead  Indian  guide  had  deserted  the  soldier  and  gone  off 
toward  Missoula.  For  his  purposes,  he  was  then  near  enough 
to  Joseph.  The  morning  hours  of  the  second  day  found  Suther 
land  ascending  the  Bitter  Root  valley.  It  was  a  very  jaded 
animal  that  he  rode  into  the  enclosure  of  the  first  settler  he 
encountered  in  the  valley.  The  poor  horse  trembled  in  every 
joint  and  sweat  at  every-pore,  and  the  sergeant,  dismounting 
looked  hard  at  the -red  on  the  flank  by  the  stirrup. 

"Good  morning,"  he  said  to  the  settler,  "I'm  bearing  dis 
patches  to  General  Gibbon  from  General  Howard,  and  must 
have  a  horse.  Have  you  got  one?  The  quartermaster  will 
settle." 

"Yes,  not  tamed  much,  but  if  you've  got  spunk  -  -  Say, 
you've  got  to  go  smart  to  catch  Gibbon;  he's  got  three  days 
the  start  of  ye." 

A  little  coffee  and  some  bread,  and  Sutherland  turned  again 
toward  the  head  of  the  valley,  one  of  the  wildest  places  along 
the  crest  of  the  American  continent.  The  new  mount  was  a 
half  broken  colt,  but  Sutherland  was  a  horseman  and,  though 
tired  kept  his  seat.  Some  furlongs  were  traversed  with  the 
recalcitrant  horse  performing  all  the  antics  of  a  "bucker". 
Then  the  saddle  girth  broke,  and  the  sergeant  fell  heavily 
to  the  ground.  He  held  to  the  reins,  but  a  terrific  wrench  of 
the  back  and  loins  rendered  him  incapable  of  remounting.  In 
spite  of  his  predicament  Sutherland  pressed  on,  leading  the 


animal,  until  the  tesilient  forces  of  the  human  frame  rallied, 
and  with  great  effort  he  regained  the  saddle. 

Under  such  circumstances  the  solitary  sergeant  move  on 
through  the  forest  and  among  the  jangled  rocks  for  another 
day  and  night  -  -  in  the  darkness  travelling  to  the  accompani 
ment  of  the  wierd  noises  of  the  nocturnal  mountain  beasts, 
in  the  day  noting  the  impediments  thrown  away  by  the  fleeing 
Joseph  and  the  pursuing  Gibbon. 

Near  noon  of  the  9th-- 60  odd  hours  after  he  had  left  How 
ard,  Sutherland  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  welcome  army  blue. 
For  hours  he  had  noted  the  tracks  of  moccasined  feet  in  the 
soft  places  as  he  descended  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rockies 
toward  the  Big  Hole.  The  first  thought  on  seeing  the  uniform 
of  a  soldier  was  that  an  engagement  had  been  fought  with  re 
sults  disastrous  to  Gibbon's  command.  He  had  chanced  upon 
a  detachment  of  citizens,  volunteers  and  incapacitated  sol 
diers  left  behind  by  Gibbon  as  he  rushed  forward  to  make  a 
night  attack  on  the  Nez  Perce. 

The  information  he  gleaned  from  this  detachment  is  best 
told  by  Sutherland  himself  in  a  note  left  behind  with  one  of 
the  irregulars  and  which  was  preserved  by  General  Howard 
as  "the  brief  record  of  a  brave  and  derserving  man." 

On  the  Big  Hole  trail,  about  20  miles  from 
Ross's  Hole,  12  m.,  Aug  8-77. 

General:  I  arrived  here  enroute  to  General  Gibbon's 
command  ten  minutes  ago.  I  find  the  train  of  General  Gib 
bon  in  camp,  with  a  guard  of  about  18  men,  citizens  and 
soldiers.  General  left  here  last  night,  with  a  force  of 
(say)  about  180  men,  and  has  been  fighting  all  day,  but 
his  exact  whereabouts  unknown  to  party  here. 

In  conformity  with  orders  from  General  Gibbon  a  party 
of  three  non-commissioned  officers  and  seven  privates 
started  from  here  at  daybreak  and  were  attacked  about 
three  miles  out;  one  corporal  killed,  two  sergeants 
wounded  and  two  men  missing;  howitzer  lost  with  15 
rounds  of  ammunition;  also  2,000  rounds  calibre  45;  pack 
mule  killed.  As  near  as  I  can  learn,  the  sergeant  in  charge 
scattered  and  destroyed  the  ammunition;  also  fired  three 
rounds  at  Indians.  It  appears  from  the  attack  that  Indians 
are  between  General  Gibbon  and  this  camp.  I  find  the  men 
here  somewhat  uneasy,  but  determined  to  stand  off  the 
Indians  at  all  hazards.  I  take  two  men  from  here  and 
start  in  five  minutes  to  reach  General  Gibbon. 

Would  respectfully  state,  in  explanation  of  seeming 
delay  on  my  part,  that  I  was  thrown  from  an  unbroken 
horse  and  my  back  severly  hurt,  my  progress  from  that 
point  being  attended  with  severe  suffering.  I  am, 

Very  respectfully, 

0.  Sutherland,  Sergeant 

Company  B,  1st  Cavalry. 

This  tired,  crippled  courier,  after  a  forced  ride  of  more 
than  sixty  hours,  announced  his  intention  of  reaching  General 
Gibbon  with  two  men,  when  ten  had  failed  attempt. 

At  the  moment  of  starting  the  "two  men"  refused  to  go. 
They  said  it  was  impossible  to  reach  Gibbon.  They  even 
reasoned  that  Gibbon  and  his  command  had  met  their  fate. 
But  undaunted,  Sutherland  tightened  his  belt  and  went  on,  not 
deigning  a  farewell  as  he  started  for  the  ridge  which  sep 
arated  him  from  the  Big  Hole.  After  he  had  gone,  a  civilian 
wagonmaster,  saddled  his  horse  and  overtook  the  courier. 


120 


INDIAN   WARS  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE 


When  the  summit  was  reached,  the  pair  speculated  as  to 
the  location  of  Gibbon.  They  heard  no  shots.  They  decided  to 
try  a  spur  which  jutted  eastwardly  from  the  main  ridge.  They 
kept  near  the  summit;  Indians  would  be  in  the  valley;  also, 
they  would  have  a  broader  view  from  the  higher  ground. 
With  eyes  and  ears  alert,  they  had  proceeded  some  miles 
when  what  seemed  the  reverberation  of  a  shot  echoed  through 
the  mountains.  But  it  gave  no  clue. 

They  went  cautiously  on  and  once,  looking  down  the  hillside 
through  a  gap  in  the  trees,  Sutherland  saw  spread  out  before 
him  in  the  valley  a  large  Indian  encampment.  He  saw  neither 
Indian  nor  white.  At  intervals  there  came  up  the  noise  of 
irregular  shooting.  If  the  soldiers  were  shooting,  they  were 
firing  at  will.  Keeping  his  horse  under  cover  of  the  trees, 
Sutherland  continued  the  descent  into  the  valley  hoping  at 
each  step  to  find  an  opening  through  the  foliage  by  which  he 
could  inform  himself  of  the  exact  situation. 

He  felt  that  Gibbon  must  be  somewhere  about,  if  living.  He 
talked  to  the  wagonmaster  about  it.  Once  they  saw  what  the 
shooting  meant  —  the  Indians,  from  the  willows  along  the 
banks  of  the  creek,  were  "potting"  wounded  soldiers.  There 
had  been  a  fight  and  Gibbon  had  not  been  victorious. 

A  slight  noise  behind,  and  Sutherland  turned  to  see  the 
wagonmaster  in  full  retreat.  "Has  Gibbon's  command  really 
been  wiped  out?"  mused  the  lonely  one  on  the  mountain  side. 

In  way  of  negative  speculation,  he  moved  his  horse  onward. 
Trees  obstructed  his  view  of  the  Nez  Perce  wickieups.  The 
shooting  ceased. 

"Did  that  last  shot  mean  the  last  of  life  of  the  last  of 
Gibbon's  men?"  The  whole  world  for  an  answer  that  minute," 
he  later  told  Sergeant  Connolly. 

How  quiet  it  became  under  those  big  trees!  Not  the  call  of  a 
bird,  or  the  frightenedly  rustle  of  a  chipmunk.  The  squeaking 
of  the  saddle  straps  became  unconscionably  loud.  The  horse's 
hoofs  made  din  of  stirring  up  the  pine  needles.  Sutherland 
strained  his  ears  to  catch  some  sound  save  the  screaming  of 
his  saddle  gear  and  the  thunder  of  the  hoofs.  For  many 
moments  it  was  thus,  the  situation  tense,  oppressive,  killing. 

Sutherland's  mind  was  wideawake.  "A  shout  will  re  veal  my 
presence  to  the  hostiles  he  thought,  and  in  an  instant  he 
added  "Whites  might  hear  it  too."  Here  was  his  dilemma. 
He  must  elect.  Sitting  there  in  that  vast,  sloping  evergreen 
stillness,  he  cast  the  die. 


Straightening  in  his  stirrups,  filling  lungs  to  their  utmost 
capacity,  with  hand  to  cheek,  he  broke  that  primeval  quiet 
with  the  strong,  resonant  tones. 

"Hoa-oa-oa,  Gibbon!" 

The  spell  fled  with  the  going  out  of  that  call,  and  it  awoke 
the  dormant  echoes  as  it  sped  along.  Alert  to  catch  answering 
call  or  sign  of  hostile  movement,  in  a  moment  from  the  east, 
near  the  foot  of  the  spur  upon  which  he  stood  came  the  unmis 
takable  call  of  a  white  throat: 

"Thi-i-is  wa-a-ay!" 

A  dig  of  the  spur,  and  horse  and  rider  plunged  forward 
through  the  timber.  But  urge  his  horse  as  he  could,  he  ran 
the  gauntlet  of  scattering  Nez  Perce  shots. 

Ten  minutes  later  General  Gibbon,  wounded,  looked  up 
from  his  improvised  cot  and  received  the  message  from 
General  Howard.  He  had  been  worsted  in  the  day's  fighting 
and  had  lost  three  officers  and  26  men.  Before  morning  Jo 
seph  went  on  toward  the  Yellowstone  country;  the  appearance 
of  a  soldier  on  the  mountain  side  had  told  him  that  Howard 
was  near. 

Turn  now  to  the  man,  Geoghegan.  When  the  State  of  Wash 
ington  was  admitted  to  the  union  in  1889,  Clarke  county  sent 
as  their  representative  to  the  first  legislature  on  of  the 
prominent  business  men  of  Vancouver,  his  name  was  John 
D.  Geoghegan.  He  became  a  candidate  for  the  first  speaker- 
ship  of  that  legislature,  but  threw  his  chances  to  the  wind 
when  he  found  that  his  chief  opponent  was  to  be  his  personal 
friend,  Colonel  J.  M.  Feighan.  In  1895  when  insurgent  forces 
tried  to  draw  the  Republican  party  into  fusion  with  the 
Populists,  Hon.  John  D.  Geoghegan  was  the  presiding  officer. 

"He  was  a  remarkable  man  and  one  of  the  best  presiding 
officers  I  have  ever  known,"  says  a  former  United  States 
Senator. 


The  United  States  Army  record  has  this: 

GEOGHEGAN,  JOHN  DENNIS  -  Private,  corporal,  ser 
geant  H  18th  Inf;  1862-65;  private,  sergeant  and  first  ser 
geant  C  19th  Inf-1865-6;  2nd  Lieut  10th  Inf.  April  1866;  1st 
Lieut  Jul  1866  resigned  Sept.  1866,  private  and  sergeant  B, 
1st  cavalry  under  name  of  Oliver  Sutherland,  Dec.  1872  to 
Dec.  1877.  Died  June  19,  1896." 


SERGEANT  SUTHERLAND'S  RIDE 


121 


29 


Harvest  of  Fifty  Years 


•Si 


- 


I 


The  miner,  the  farmer,  the  fisherman,  the  sailor,  the  town 
builder  and  the  railroad  builder  -  every  primary  and  pro 
ductive  man  sees  before  him  an  endless  chance  of  profitable 
work  for  himself  and  for  his  opinions  and  in  many  activities 
there  may  yet  be  a  certain  crude  ness  of  thought  and  of  action 
such  as  is  characteristic  of  all  newly  settled  communities; 
but  there  is  nowhere  a  lack  of  power,  of  efficiency,  or  of  self 
confidence;  and  the  total  volume  of  performance  is  amazing. 
It  is  as  much  as  to  say: 

"You  can  forsee  the  limit  of  population  and  even  of  the 
kinds  of  activity  in  New  England,  or  in  Iowa;  but  you  cannot 
see  the  limit  of  either." 

A  few  months  since  thus  wrote  a  man  of  large  and  varied 
experience  with  peoples  and  classes,  of  wide  observation  of 
man  and  conditions  and  of  conservative  and  matter  of  fact 


temperament.  He  wrote  it  of  the  people  of  the  entire  Pacific 
Northwest,  but  it  is  essentially  true  of  the  Inland  Empire  of 
the  Columbia. 

An  extended  disquisition  on  conditions  and  affairs  in  the 
vast  Columbia  valley  since  Colonel  George  Wright  made  his 
unparallel  campaign  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  any 
one  volume;  but  to  those  unfamiliar  with  the  facts  of  today 
who  have  caught  something  of  a  mental  picture  of  the  times  of 
Kamiahkin  and  Joseph  form  the  foregoing  pages  it  may  prove 
of  interest  to  note  some  facts  of  the  period  intervening  and 
of  the  close  of  that  period. 

The  condition  of  the  military  has  changed,  and  garrisons 
and  posts  on  a  frontier  have  gone  through  a  complete 
revolution.  Colonel  Wright  recommended  that  there  be  no 
post  established  north  of  the  Snake  river,  but  suggested  that 


123 


*^P|  i  ur  ^-f^^^^»  ," 


Fort  Spokane,  October,  1880 


marches  be  made  by  the  troops  through  the  region.  General 
Harney  had  reasons  for  bringing  into  existence  the  American 
Fort  Colville  in  1859. 

The  post  was  located  on  Mill  creek  about  four  miles  north 
east  of  the  present  town  of  Colville.  During  the  Civil  war  it 
was  garrisoned  by  volunteers.  It  consisted  of  log  buildings. 
Its  history  was  peaceful,  its  end  serene.  For  months  after 
the  post  was  deserted  by  the  troops  under  the  officer  now 
known  as  General  Henry  C.  Merriam,  a  quartermaster 
was  the  sole  occupant.  The  time  came  when  his  time  of 
service  was  ended  and  the  post  was  left  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  dear  people  who  soon  dismantled  it.  Its  flagstaff  was 
cut  down  and  sold  in  the  town  of  Colville  for  fire  wood.  The 
official  term  of  the  post  was  encompassed  by  the  dates,  June 
30,  1859  and  November  1st,  1882. 

When  the  soldiers  left  Fort  Colville  they  came  down  the 
Columbia  river  and  established  at  Lake  Chelan  and  Camp 
Chelan.  But  that  station  was  short  lived  for  its  location  had 
no  merit  from  a  military  pointofview.lt  was  established  on 
September  2,  1879,  and  was  formally  closed  on  October  16, 
1880. 

Three  days  later  the  garrison  flag  was  unfurled  at  Fort 
Spokane.  The  thrust  of  the  years  and  trend  of  events  went  on, 
and  there  was  no  need  of  military  post  at  the  junction  of  the 
Columbia  andSpokane  rivers.  The  buildings  were  transferred 


from  the  control  of  the  war  department  and  have  done  service 
as  headquarters  for  the  Spokane  Indian  agency  and  school. 
Fort  Lapwai,  Idaho,  sprang  into  existence  as  an  emergency 
point  a  Nez  Perce  Indian  being  in  California  during  the  gold 
excitement,  told  a  story  of  having  seen  in  the  mountains  of 
his  native  country  a  glittering  object  in  a  cliff,  shining  like 
a  star  at  night.  Supposing  at  first  that  the  object  was  some 
great  "Tomanowas,"  the  Indians  did  not  touch  it,  but  sub 
sequently  examining  it  they  discovered  a  glittering  ball  like 
glass  embedded  in  the  solid  rock.  Among  the  men  who  heard 
this  story  was  E.  D.  Pierce,  who  in  1860  organized  a  party 
of  investigation.  The  Indians  ordered  them  from  the  country, 
but  Pierce  induced  an  Indian  woman  to  guide  him  and  his 
party  up  the  Clearwater.  They  never  found  the  glittering  ball 
in  the  rock,  but  at  a  little  mountain  meadow  up  the  north  fork 
of  the  Clearwater  river,  a  member  of  Pierce' s  party, 
amused  himself  by  washing  out  some  sand.  It  contained  gold 
dust.  The  spot  became  the  site  of  Oro  Fino,  the  point  of  the 
first  discovery  of  gold  in  Idaho.  Despite  the  governmental 
prohibition  not  to  settle  Nez  Perce  lands,  the  town  of  Lewis- 
ton  also  grew.  There  was  material  for  trouble  and  the  govern 
ment  selected  the  old  home  of  Missionary  Spaulding  as  a 
site  for  one  of  its  watch-houses.  Fort  Lapwai's  prime 
importance  came  in  the  early  days  of  the  Nez  Perce  war.  It 
was  established  in  August,  1862,  and  had  a  life  of  22  years. 


124 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


A  Picture  Taken  in  the  Early  Days  of  Fort  George  Wright 


Fort  Coeur  d'Alene,  later  known  as  Fort  Sherman,  was 
established  in  1878  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Coeur  d'Alene.  The 
most  exciting  period  of  its  history  came  during  the  mining 
troubles  of  1893.  It  caused  to  be  built  the  first  steamer  to 
navigate  the  lake,  the  "Mary  Wheaton,"  whose  purpose  was 
to  transport  hay  for  the  cavalry  horses  from  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  mission.  It  went  out  of  existence  in  1900,  and  since 
that  time  the  grounds  and  buildings  have  been  sold,  and  the 
military  reservation  has  become  a  popular  residence  section 
of  the  city  of  Coeur  d'Alene. 

In  a  sense  all  of  these  military  establishments  were  com 
bined  into  the  grand,  modern  post  known  as  Fort  George 
Wright,  erected  on  the  little  plain  on  the  Spokane  river,  where 
the  expedition  of  1858  rested  after  the  all  day  running  fight 
known  as  the  battle  of  Spokane  Plains. 

The  Indian  reservations  are  following  the  fate  of  the  mil 
itary  reservations.  As  these  lines  are  written,  preparations 
are  making  for  throwing  the  Coeur  d'Alene  and  Spokane  re 
servations  open  to  settlement  by  the  whites.  It  may  be  said 
that  these  reservations  have  come  and  gone  since  1858.  Al 
ready  the  north  half  of  the  old  Colville  and  the  Nez  Perce 
reservations  will  belong  to  the  past. 

But  the  wonder  of  the  last  fifty  years  in  the  Inland  Empire 
is  shown  in  the  richness  of  the  endowments  of  nature.  The 


rivers  descend  from  their  high  places.  With  curve  and  sweep 
they  come  from  the  high  lands  hurled  roughly  upward.  The 
years  nibbled  the  ancient  rock  and  the  frosts  stabbed  them. 
The  ages  have  awaited  their  attrition.  Water  and  time  and  the 
elements  made  the  soil. 

These  insensate  ancients  waited  for  the  white  man  long 
after  1858.  It  was  not  until  after  the  Civil  war  that  advantage 
was  taken  of  Colonel  Wright's  work  in  preparing  the  way. 
Settlers  were  comparatively  few  in  the  Inland  Empire  until 
1876,  when  the  nation  was  a  hundred  years  old.  Yet  the  in 
crease  in  population  was  slow  until  the  railroads  only  dream 
ed  of  at  Washington  in  1858,  pushed  their  way  into  the  valleys. 
Then  the  modern  began  to  touch  the  ancient  along  the  Colum 
bia  and  its  tributaries.  The  Major  part  of  the  development 
has  taken  place  within  the  last  half  of  the  years  since  1858. 

In  1858  the  Inland  Empire  contributed  nothing  to  civiliza 
tion.  In  1908  the  territory,  apartof which  was  characterized 
by  Colonel  Wright  as  "a  forbidden  country"  raised  thirty 
seven  million  bushels  of  wheat.  It  sent  300  carloads  of  ap 
ples  to  the  market  of  London  alone.  It  shipped  flour  to  China 
alone  of  the  value  of  twelve  million  dollars.  Its  farms  pro 
duced  fifty  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  wealth.  From  its 
mines  come  forty  millions  of  dollars.  The  total  product  of 
wealth  for  the  year  1908  has  been  placed  by  competent  au 
thorities  at  $145,000,000. 


HARVEST  OF  FIFTY  YEARS 


125 


But  a  procession  of  figures  is  useless  in  order  to  convey 
the  real  condition  of  men  and  of  life  in  the  Inland  Empire  of 
today,  thus  furnishing  the  other  term  in  the  ratio  of  this 
great  contrast  of  fifty  years. 

This  chasm  of  half  a  century  is  not  wide  in  time  in  an  air 
line  as  the  years  fly,  but  itisa  tremendous  span  in  develop 
ment  along  every  line  of  human  activity.  On  the  one  side  vast 
stretches  of  unproductive  land;  on  the  other  wheatfields  fam 
ous  the  world  over,  orchard  and  garden  and  upland  of  mar 
vellous  fertility  and  fecundity. 

The  great  areas  of  unused  forest;  now,  producing  more 
manufactured  lumber  than  the  mind  can  conceive. 

In  1858,  two  or  three  rough  trails  and  the  beginning  of  a 
government  road;  in  1908,  mile  upon  mile  of  transcontinen 
tal  steam  railroad,  with  local  branches  teaching  every  con 
siderable  section,  and  electric  railway  sand  well  construe  ted 
public  highways,  over  which  spins  the  Mercy-like  automobile. 

There,  Indian  teepees  and  a  few  cabins;  here,  modern 
cities  and  villages  and  towns  and  favored  farm  structures. 


Echo,  two  crude  mission  schools;  reality,  colleges,  normal 
schools  and  structures  by  the  wayside  from  which  in  re 
sponse  to  the  morning  roll  call  rises  a  grand  chorus  from  a 
myriad  of  clear  young  throats. 

Tentative,  pioneer  Jesuit  religious  services;  accom 
plished,  the  directive  and  educative  force  of  countless  chur 
ches  of  every  known  belief  under  heaven. 

Gone,  those  "pathless  woods"  and  solitudes  "where  rolls 
the  Orgon  and  hears  no  sound  save  his  own  dashings;" 
gained,  the  restlessness  of  an  empire  throbbing  grandly  with 
every  pulsation  of  Twentieth  Century  advancement  and  dili 
gence. 

An  American  half  century  which  has  outstripped  "fifty 
years  of  Europe"  as  they  did  "a  cycle  of  Cathay." 

If  those  minute  men  at  Lexington  swung  a  new  government 
into  the  firmament  of  nations,  then  those  soldiers  of  Steptoe 
huddled  on  Hardesty's  hill  on  the  evening  of  May  17,  1858, 
by  unconscious  deed  were  fixing  the  star  of  the  Inland  Em 
pire  in  the  galaxy  of  the  gardens  of  the  earth. 


126 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


30 


Silhouette 


"Once,  All  Mine  and  my  People's"  in  those  words  were 
summed  up  the  agony  of  the  last  of  the  strong  leaders  of  his 
race.  They  were  at  once  a  soul's  teardrop  and  a  courtesy  to 
the  inevitable. 

The  outburst  come  from  the  lips  of  Chief  Garry  of  the 
Spokanes  as,  standing  before  his  teepee  pitched  on  the  hill 
side  to  the  west  of  Latah  Creek,  he  looked  down  of  an  autumn 
afternoon  upon  a  growing  city  spread  out  from  his  feet  far 
eastward  up  the  valley  of  the  river  which  bears  his  tribal 
name.  From  out  of  the  East  has  ever  come  the  remorseless, 
obliterating  invader. 

Upon  the  waters  which  in  by-gone  autumns  had  been  pierced 
by  the  salmon  weirs  of  his  tribemen,  Garry  did  not  look.  The 
richly  slanting  rays  of  the  declining  sun  threw  into  bold 
prominence  the  roofs  and  western  sides  of  the  buildings  of 
the  white  man.  The  city  had  once  been  burned,  but  on  this 
afternoon  was  rising  again  in  a  larger,  more  powerful 
exemplar  of  Anglo-Saxon  aggrandizement. 

A  decade  and  a  half  earlier  a  shack  had  raised  its  pioneer 
head  to  the  heavens  above  the  plain  below  the  frusted  hill. 
Then  came  more  shacks.  Ultimately  arose  houses  and 
buildings.  Now  a  long  line  of  rails,  gleaming  in  the  sun, 
marked  a  path  between  the  multiplying  structures,  andfar  up 
the  valley  arose  a  cloud  of  black  smoke  telling  the  eye  of 
the  metal  horse  thundering  onward. 

Garry  had  been  a  good  Indian,  according  to  the  white  man's 
view  of  Indians.  Sent  when  a  boy,  to  the  schools  of  the  settle 
ments  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  as  a  protege  of  Sir 
George  Simpson  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Garry 
returned  to  his  people  with  broadened  views  of  the  white  race 
and  its  destinies.  He  also  brought  his  new  name,  taken  from 
the  historic  old  fort  at  Winnipeg. 

In  the  years  that  passed  since  these  Red  River  days, 
Garry,  leanring  much  of  the  meaning  go  his  race  of  civili 
zation.  Between  fires  he  had  passed  through  the  exciting 
campaign  of  1858,  when  the  United  States  government  had 
thrust  upon  his  people  the  alternative  of  peace  or  exter 
mination.  As  tribal  leader  he  was  openly  hostile  then,  but 
in  his  heart  he  understood  the  futility  of  armed  resistance. 
His  tribe  would  brook  none  of  his  counsels  for  peace.  He  was 
threatened.  Nominally,  only  nominally,  was  he  hostile.  He 
bided  the  time  when  hard  experience  would  show  his  the 
correctness  of  views.  With  glad  heart  he  signed  the  treaty 
of  peace  and  friendship,  and  set  to  work  to  heal  the  wounds 
of  a  onesided  war. 


Yonder  in  the  valley,  as  he  stood  there  by  his  teepee  in  af 
ter  years,  below  his  weary  eyes  were  the  very  ripples  of  the 
river  through  which  he  waded  on  a  September  day  thirty-odd 
years  ago  to  hear  the  words  of  the  military:  "Garry,  when 
you  bring  all  your  horses  and  goods  and  women  and  children 
and  lay  them  at  my  feet  —  then  I  dictate  to  you  the  terms 
upon  which  you  may  have  peace." 

Did  the  Indian  reconstruct  that  scene  as  he  gazed  over  the 
city's  housetops  this  afternoon  of  1891? 

Further  to  the  north  and  on  the  sloping  side  of  the  valley, 
showed  the  roofs  of  the  lowly  buildings  he  had  erected  when 
he  had  broad  faith  in  the  whites  man's  way  of  doing  things. 
They  were  reminiscent  of  his  labor  for  a  home  under  the 
white  man's  laws.  Immigrants  had  found  a  flaw  in  Garry's 
title  to  the  ugly  little  tract  of  land,  and  by  ukase  from  Wash 
ington  the  Indian  was  ousted.  He  had  made  an  honest  attempt 
to  adapt  himself  to  the  new  way;  but  never  had  he  been  more 
homeless  nomad  than  he  was  on  this  September  day  of  1891. 

The  frosts  of  time  had  now  came  upon  Garry.  His  eye  was 
dimmed  by  age  and  privation  and  exposure.  His  sinews  had 
withered.  He  had  leaned  upon  the  white  man's  ways  as  upon 
a  crutch,  and  in  the  hour  of  his  decrepitude  had  seen  his  re 
liance  crumble.  His  tribe  had  already  gone  to  the  reserva 
tion.  In  a  body  from  which  the  spirit  had  all  but  departed,  he 
slowly  roamed  the  hillsides  and  valleys  vainly  looking  for 
life  as  he  had  known  it  in  virile  years  in  the  free,  halcyon 
days  of  his  youth  when  vigor  still  spurred  his  pulse  beats. 
His  blind  wife  and  his  teepee  were  all  of  the  old  life  that  were 
left.  A  few  moons  and  they,  too,  would  be  gone. 

As  he  stood  there  on  this  afternoon,  was  it  given  to  him  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  scheme  of  Providence  as  races  and 
nations  go?  Had  he  seen  enough  in  his  span  of  life  to  under 
stand  that  his  kind  had  run  their  course,  and  that  the  works 
under  his  eyes  were  simply  significant  of  the  activities  of 
a  people  elected  to  do  grander,  broader  things?  Could  he  see 
that  it  had  been  his  fate  to  be  in  that  pathetic  position  which 
is  on  the  line  of  division  between  two  eras  of  world  progress? 
Was  he  able  to  transcend  his  aboriginal  nature  and  read  in 
the  unfolding  events  the  lines  of  another  act  in  the  earth  old 
tragedy  of  the  ruthless  thrusting  aside  of  one  people  to  make 
way  for  another  with  a  newer  work  to  do?  Could  he  catch  a 
single  note  of  the  grand  dispason,  "Through  the  ages  one  un 
ceasing  purpose  runs?" 

Unnoticed  by  the  self-communing  old  figure,  there  came 
up  the  hillside  from  below  two  persons  on  horseback.  They 


127 


were  the  doctor-major  and  his  wife.  Good  hearted  souls  Pathetically  his  arm  stretched  out  toward  the  houses  be- 

seeking  to  relieve  distress,  they  were  coming  with  medicines  iow  an(j  beyond  the  river.  His  face  in  inefiably  sad  and  his 

and  clothing  and  delicacies  for  her  who  lay  on  a  pallet  of  tones  were  low  and  halting  as  he  entered  the  stricken  teepee. 

^^^SLS^oted  the  old  man.  It  was  curt.  His  By  the  side  of  Ws  invalid  wife  he  «**»  stretched  forth  Ws 

thoughts  were  with  the  long  ago.  He  at  once  resumed  com-  arm  m  explanatory  apology  for  his  curt  salutation: 

templation  of  the  sunlite  scene  spread  out  before  him  in  the  "Once  all  mine  and  my  people's." 

dying  day.  The  doctor-major  and  his  wife  understood. 


128  INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


Index 


Adrian,  35 

Ahtanum,   14   103 

Allen,  2nd   Lt.  Jesse   K..  53 

Apaches,  3 

Athabasca  House,  6 

Ball,    1st   Sgt.    Edward    (later    Major) 

24,  64,  101 

Barnes,  Army  Surgeon,  101 
Beall,    Benjamin    Lloyd,  29 
Beall,   Thomas,   21,   29 
Benton,  2 
Big   Star,  70,  71 
Big   Thunder,   Chief,   111 
Blenkinsop,    George,    44 
Blue  Jacket,  6 
Bolan,  Andrew  J.,   14,  83 
Bonaventure,  31,  35 
Bonneville,   1 
"Brother  Johathan",  90 
Buchanan,    President,    4,    9, 
Budd's   Inlet,   10 
Buford,  27 

Cabinet    Landing,   71 
Camas  Meadows,  116 
Camass   Prairie   Creek,   69 
Camayken   (sic),  49 
Captain   Jack,  5 
Cayuse,  49 
Cataldo,  Father,  112 
Cerro  Gordo,  21 
Chaudries,  34 
Cheyennes,  3 
Clark,  George  Rogers,  2 
Clark,  Senator  W.   A.,  71 
Clarke,   General    Newman    S.,   10,    13, 

14,   19,  25,  31,   40,  43,  45,  46,  47, 

48,  49,  50,   51,  52,  53,   54,  66,   80, 
81     87,  88,  90,  91 

Clark's  Fork  of  the  Columbia,  74,  87 

Clear   Lake,   67 

Clearwater   River,   116 

Coeur  d'Alene   City,  73 

Coeur  d'Alene   Indians,  6,   14,  23,  25, 

31,    32-35     38,    46,   48-50,    55,    65, 

69,  73-77,  79,  88 
Coeur  d'Alene   Lake,  74,  75,  77 
Coeur  d'Alene  Mission,  74,  76,  77    79, 

100 

"Columbia"  Steamer,  51 
Columbia  Valley,  2,  5,  7,  9 
Colville,  19,  20,  23    28,  33,  38,  39,  43, 

49,  55,  58,  65 
Colville  Trail,   69 
Colville  Valley,  7 
Comanches,  2,   3 


Congiato,    Father,   31,   37,   46,   47,   55.. 

Connolly,   Sgt.,    120,   121 

Cottonwood,   113 

Council,  94 

Cow    Creek,   58 

Cullen,  Judge  W.   E.,  71 

"Cut    Mouth    John",    100 

The   Dalles,  20,  38,  48,  51,  88,  89,  91 

Dandy,  General  George  B.,  58,  61,  66, 

67,  68,  71,  84,  90,  91-97 
Davidson,    Lt.    Henry    B.,    58,    60,    63, 

64,  65,  70,  91,  96 

Dean,   Sgt.   William    (later   Captain) 

5,  68 
Dent,    Captain    Frederick    T.,    45,    58, 

65,  75,  91,  96 
Edwall    (or   Lahto),  94,  95 
Executions  (of  Qualchan),  83,  86,  94, 

95 

Feighan,  Colonel  J.  M.,  121 
Flatheads,  17,  48 

Fleming,  Lt.  H.  B.,  24,  28,  58,  91,  96 
Fletcher,   Lt.   117 
Floyd,  John   B.,  3,  4,  10 
Fort    Benton,   25,   66,   73,   89 
Fort  Cascades,   101 
Fort  Colville,  42,  44,  58,   91,   124 
Fort  Dalles,  45,  58,  75,  101 
Fort  Hall,  89 

Fort  Lapwai,  111,  116  124 
Fort  Laramie,  89,  90, 
Fort  Miller,   99,   100 
Fort  Okanogan,  53 
Fort  Sherman,  125 
Fort  Simcoe,   14,  47,  53 
Fort  Taylor,  53,  99,  101 
Fort  Vancouver,  31,  46,  51,  66,  80,  101 
Fort  Wagner,  21 
Fort  Walla  Walla,  5,  19,  20,  25,  27,  28, 

42,   50,  51,   52,   54,   55,  58,   64,  66, 

88,  91,   101 

Fort  Wright,   67,   125 
Four  Lakes  Battle,  27,  60,  65,  66.  92, 

99 

Fourth  of  July  Canyon,  73 
Francois,   35 
Fraser   River,  7,    14 
Fremont,  1 
Garnett,    Major   Robert  Seldon,  3,  47 

53,  83 
Garry,  Chief,  6,  14,  48,  49,  50,  63,  70, 

81,  127,  128 
Gaston    Lt.  20,   23,  24,  28,   29,  42,   53, 

58,  66,  86  88,  91 


Geoghegan,  John  D.,  121 
Geronimo,  5 

Gibbon,  General,  116,  119,  120,  121 
Gibbs  George  (Geologist),  109 
Gibson,  Lt.   Horatio  G.,  58,  65,  66,  91, 
96 

Gibson's  Train,  59 

Graham,  James  A.,  43,  44,  47,  50 

Grangeville,  115 

Granite   Lake,  67 

"Great    American    Desert",    4 

Great  Northern,  90 

Gregg  Lt.  David   McM,  19,  20,  24,  27, 

30,   57,   63,   66,   91,  93     95 

61,  62,  63,  65,  66,  67,  71,  93,  95 
Grier    Major   William    N.,   30,   56,   60, 

61-63,  65,   66,   67,  71,  93,   95 
Hall,  1st  Sgt.  James  A.,  4 
Hammond,    Doctor  James    (John)    F., 

57,  92,  96 

Hangman   Creek,  70,  83,  86 
Hardesty,  J.   G.,  22 
Hardie,    Capt.    James    A.,    58,    61,    65, 

91,   96,    101 
Harney,  General  William   S.,  88,  101, 

124 

Harvie,    Lt.,  20 
Hill,   Lt.  Gabriel    H.,  99 
Hoeken,   Father  A.,  37,  39, 
"Horse   Slaughter  Camp",  73,  86 
Horses,   Slaughter  of,  70-72 
Howard,  Lt.  James  C.,  58,  66,  97 
Howard,  General  Oliver  O.,  111,  112, 

115  116,  117 

Hudson   Bay  Company,  6,  41,  42 
Ihrie,  Lt.  George  P.,  58,  66,  92,  96 
Ingerton,  1st  Sgt.  William   H.,  64 
Ingossom  Creek,  30,  86 
Inland    Empire,   1,  5,  67,   125 
Irving,   1 

Jackson,  Captain,  119 
Jacques,  34,  35 

Johnston,   General   Albert  Sidney,  39 
"Jonathan,    Brother"    Steamer,   90 
Joseph,  Chief,  5,  111-117 
Joseph,  Father,  25 
Joset,    Father,   31,   37,   38,  46,   47,   55, 

70,  71,  74,  77,  80,  81,  94,  100 
Kamiahkin,  Chief,  5,  6,  7,  31,  37,  46, 

47,   53,   58,   65,   66,  71,   77,  83-86, 

95,  103,  109 
Kanasket,   Chief,  91 
Kenny,  Sgt.  Michael,  29,  30,  64 
Kettle   Falls,  42,  44 


Index  (cont.) 


Keyes,    Captain    Erasmus    D.,    54,    57, 

60,  61,  63,  65,  75,  84,  92,  96,  99 
Kickapoos,  3 
Kiowa,  2,  3 
Kip,    Adjutant    Lawrence,  20,   42,   51, 

57,  58,   61,   63,   67,  71,  80,   81,  84, 
88,  92,  99 

Kirkham,    Captain    Ralph    H.,    54,   57, 

58,  83,  92,  93,  96 

Kitsap,  91 

Lahto   (or  Edwall),  94,  95 

Lansdale,  B.  H.,  37 

Latah  Creek,  70,  81 

Lawyer,  Chief,  12,  49 

Lawyer's  Country,  49 

LeQuout,  85 

Leschi,  91 

Lewis  and  Clark,  1,  2 

Liberty,  Stephen  Settler,  71 

Lolo  Pass,  116,  120 

Lolo  Trail,  116 

Long,   1 

Looking  Glass,  Chief,  113,  115-117 

Lynch,   Private   James,  29 

Lyon,  Hylan   B.,  58,  61,  92 

McClellan,    Captain,   58 

McDowell,   Major  Irvin,  40 

McGeon,  35 

McKay,  John,   Pioneer,  67 

McLoughlin,  Dr.  John,  41,  42 

MacMurray,  Major  Junius  W.,  104 

Mackall,   Major  W.  W.,  19,  43,  48,  56 

Malkapsi    (or   Milkapsi),  14,  81,  84 

Meadow  Lake,  67 

Medical    Lake,   67 

Miles,    General    Nelson    A.,    103,    116, 

117 

Mill  Creek,  54 
Mississippi  Yager  Rifles,  20 
Mitcham,  Lt.  Col.  O.  D.,  21 
Modocs,  5 

Morgan,   General,  84,  88 
Morgan,  Lt.  Michael  R.,  58,  71,  91,  95, 

96,  99-101 

Mormons,  3,  14,  25,  40,  45 
Moses,  Chief,  104 
Mott,  16 
Mt.  Hope,  113 
Mox  Mox,  116 
Mullan,    Lt.  John,   15,    18,  25,   30,   44, 

46,   54,   57,   58,  61,  64,   66,   67,  69, 

71,  73,  74,  92,  96,  99 
Mullan   Road,  4,  96 
Navajos,  2,  3 


Nesmith,  J.  W.,  11 

Nespelem,  117 

New  Mexico,  2 

Nez  Perce,  5,  6,  12,  17,  29,  33,  34,  44, 

47,  50,  54,  57,  58,  87,  111-117 
Northern  Pacific,  4,  90 

Ollicut,  116 
Olympia,  10 
Ord,  Captain  Edward  O.  C.,  58,  65, 

66,  93,  96 
Oregon,  3,  4 
Oregon  Short  Line,  89 
Owen,  Lt.  Philip  A.,  57,  96 
Owen's  Ford,  37 
Owhi,  53,  83-86,  88,  95 
Own,  Lt.  P.  A.,  92 
Owyhee    (or   Owhi),  101 
Palouse,  3,  29 
Palouse    Indians,   5,  6,   19,  23,  34,  42, 

48,  65,  77,  79,  87,  88 
Parnell,  Colonel,  116 
Pat  Kanim,  91 

Pend  Oreilles,  6,  17,  34,  48,  65,  69 

Pender,  Lt.  William  D.,  57,  58,  66,  95 

Perry,  Captain,  116 

Peyton,  Colonel  I.  N.,  67 

Pieds  Noirs,  34 

Pierce,  E.  (?)   D.,  124 

Pike,  1 

Platte,  3 

Pohlatkin,  6,  14,  48,  70,  81,  85,  94 

Porter,  Fitz  John,  40 

Post,  Frederick,  74 

Post  Falls,  74 

Prulin,  Pierre  (Chief),  32 

Puget  Sound   Settlement,  1,  2 

Qualchan    (or    Qualchew),   53,   84-86, 

87,  88,  95,  101 
Quimelt,  91 
Rains,  Lt.,  116 
Randall,  Captain,  116 
Randolph,    Surgeon    John    F.,   24,    27, 

57,  64 

Ransom,  Lt.  Dunbar  R.,  58,  92,  96 
Rathdrum,  71 
Ravalli,  Father,  76,  80,100 
Rawn,  Captain,   116,  119 
Red  River,  3 

Red  Wolf's  Crossing,  29,  64 
Riparia,  21 
Rock  Lake,  84 
Rocky   Canyon,   113 
Rodenbaugh,  General  T.  F.,  21 
Rohn,  Private  John,  84 


Rosalia,  22,  30 
Sacramento,  40 
St.  Francis  Regis,  42 
Salem,  Oregon,  18 
Salt  Lake  Road,  15 
Saltese,  71 
San    Francisco,  40 
Scott,  General  Winfield,  21,  24 
Seminoles,  3 

Settlements  on   Columbia,  1,  2,  11 
Settlements  on  Cowlitz,  5 
Settlements  on    Puget  Sound,  1,  2,  5, 
9 

Settlements   in  Walla  Walla   Valley, 
2 

Settlements  on  Willamette,  1,  2 
Sheridan,  General,  27,  117 
Signers  of  Treaty   (Indians),  80,  81 
Witnesses  to  Signing  of  Treaty 

(Military),  80 
Silver  Lake,  67 
Sioux,  3 
Sitting  Bull,  5 
Skloom,  53 
"Skookum",  100 
Slow-i-archy,  Chief,  87 
Smohalla,    7,    13,    103-105,    109,    111, 

112,  113 

Snake   River,  3,  21,  24,  29,  52,  53,  54, 
55,  56,  57,  58,  66 

Spauldings  at  Lapwai    Mission,  111 
Splawn,  Hon.  A.  J.,  85 
Spokane,  3,  37,  59,  66 
Spokane  Bridge,  58,  74 
Spokane    Expedition,  96,  99 
Spokane   Indians,  5,  6,  14,   19,  23,  33, 
46-49,  55,  79,  88 

Spokane   Plains  Battle,  27,  65,  67,  93 

Steptoe   Battle,  27 

Steptoe,  Colonel,  3,  11,   12,   15,   19-22, 

24,  27,  29,  31,  35,  37,  42,  46,  48,  49, 

50,  52,   53,   58,   66,  70,  77,   79,   80, 

86,  91,   92,  94,  96 
Stevens  Treaties,  49,  89 
Stevens,   Isaac  I.,  4,  9,   10,  12,  16,  32, 

37,  84,  89 
Stuart,  Jeb,  26 
Sturgis,  General,   115,  116 
Sutherland,   Sgt.   Oliver,    119-121 
Swan,  James  G.,  10 
Taylor,    Brevet  Capt.,  20,   23,   24,  27- 

30,  42,  58,  64,  86,  88,  91 
Tetes  Plattes,  34 
Texas,  3 


Index  (cont.) 


Til-co-ax,   70,  71,   77,   83,  87,  94,   115 

Timothy,  Chief,  23,  29 

Too-hul-hul-sote,    112-114,    116 

Touchet,  54,  56 

Treaty    Making,   79-81 

Treaty  of  Peace  and  Friendship  be 
tween  U.S.  and  Coeur  d'Aleen 
Indians,  79-81 

Trimble,    Major   Joel   G.,  20,  64 

Tucanon    River,  92 

Tyler,  Lt.  Robert  O.,  58,  63,  65,  66, 
91,  96 

U.S.   Military  Academy,  27 

Utah,  3,  40 

Utes,   3 

Vancouver,  51 

Vincente,  Chief,  33,  39,  47,  77,  94 

Wailatpu,  2 

Walla  Walla,  2,  11,  30,  45,  50,  55,  58, 
89 


Walla  Walla   Council   of  1855,  6,  9,  11 

Walla  Walla    Indians,  49 

Walton,   Samuel,  71 

Wampanoegs,  5 

Wanapum    (Tribe),   103 

War   Chants,  93 

"Warm    Springs"    Reservation,   45 

Washington  Territory,  9 

Webster,    Capt.    John     McA.     (Indian 

Agent),   85 
Wenatchee,   53 
West  Medical  Lake,  67 
Wheeler,   Lt.,  28,  29 
White,    Lt.   James    L.,   52,   58,    61,   63, 

65,  66,  75,  91,  92,  93 
White    Bird,  Chief,   112-114,  116 
Whitman,   Marcus,  2 
Whitman   Valley,  49 
Wichitas,  3 
Wilkes,  Commander,  67 


Willamette  Settlement,  1,  2,  17 

Williams,  Sgt.,  30 

Winder,   Capt.  Charles  S.,  24,  28,  58, 

65,  66,  91,  96 
Wolf's  Lodge,  73 
Wolf's    Lodge   Creek,  76 
Wool,   General,   10,   19 
Wright,  Colonel  George,  3,  17,  19,  27, 

29,   57,    58,    59,   60,   61,   64,    65-72, 

77,    79-81,    83-86,    88,    89,    90,    94, 

95,  96,  101,  125,  163 
Wright  Expedition,  20,  21,  59,  73,  88 
Wyse,  Major  F.  O.,  54,  92,  99 
Yakima,  2,  3,  9,  38 
Yakima   Indians,  5,  19,  23,  53 
York,  6 

Young,   Brigham,  4 
Zacharia,  34,  35 


Notes 


Notes 


Notes 


Notes 


0830 


In! 


